


Where Did You Sleep Last Night

by KorrasamianCity



Category: The Walking Dead (Telltale Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Awkward Flirting, Bad Flirting, Bad Jokes, Bisexual Clementine (Walking Dead), Canon-Typical Violence, Eventual Character Death, Eventual Drug Use, F/M, Flashbacks, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Louis is a HUGE Flirt, Mitch Grows Weed, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Panic Attacks, Past Child Abuse, Past Rape/Non-con, Past Sexual Abuse, Past Torture, Rating May Change, Warnings May Change, added scenes, eventual drinking, mentions of adult situations
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-05
Updated: 2019-10-11
Packaged: 2020-06-25 16:37:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 22,478
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19749604
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KorrasamianCity/pseuds/KorrasamianCity
Summary: Parenting never came easy for Clementine, but watching her children fill in their parent's portraits was a gratifying feeling.Omid Junior is a little goofball, just like his father was. AJ's hard headed, much like Rebecca. DJ, or properly David II, likes to laugh; just like Javi and Kate. This gave her hope for her own child.OJ, AJ, DJ, and. . . CJ. Well, Clementine never was very creative with names after all.Clementine loves making her children laugh and making sure they're happy. She distracts them from her sad reality in any way she can. Though, she can admit it take's it's toll mentally.Pitted against her own trauma, will she be able to protect her children against herself, or will she crack under her own pressure?(Rewrite currently in progress)





	1. In The Pines

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Your Kids are Safe Now](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18622522) by [Night_Writer3](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Night_Writer3/pseuds/Night_Writer3). 
  * Inspired by [My Darling (Spinoff of Unravel)](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/497353) by DaHgreatest. 
  * Inspired by [If Only They Knew](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/497356) by H8trzgonnah8te. 



> To make it clear, OJ is 7, AJ is 5, CJ is 4, and DJ is somewhere around 6 months old. (Exact age is unknown; it's the apocalypse after all.)
> 
> Also, a cute little thing I thought to add: Javi taught Clementine & her children Spanish. Subsequently, she promised Javi she would teach DJ, as well. The whys and hows of why Clem has Kate & Javier's child will surface later; just in case you were wondering. ;3  
> Please tell me if I've got anything wrong, I need to spruce up my Spanish.
> 
> Since Clementine is however you shape her to be, I believe there is no moderate OOC for her. Thus, my Clementine is more sassy and less trusting to others, and more sympathetic and jokey to her kids. I'll be sometimes altering dialogue to fit her better. It won't be anything extreme.  
> She's also... Not very mentally well. It'll show eventually.  
> This is my Clementine and she will reflect from my choices. I'm sorry if you chose some things differently.
> 
> I'll eventually fill in some small holes that irk me. Like, for instance, how do the Ericson kids wash dishes? How do they bathe? Where does Omar get his spices if the greenhouse is abandoned? Why is Louis so hot? All will be revealed in time.
> 
> There's a teeny tiny chance for lemon way later into the story.  
> TW for Rape. It's mentioned/referenced, and there's a chance for a flashback.
> 
> I recommend reading the inspirations for this fic if you haven't already. They're worth it. But please be very mindful that "If Only They Knew" is NOT for the lighthearted.
> 
> I read what I write a million times as I go along and before I post, so it might be blurred to me.  
> Please inform me of mistakes, and criticize if you see something that could use buffing, detailing, or cleaning!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After traveling on wheels for days with no food, a shimmer of hope awakens at the sight of a decrepit train station.

As the car barreled through the desolate country pavement, Clementine reveled in the drifting winds that breezed through her tangled, curly hair. At 78 miles per hour and gaining, the engine clamored with disapproval but relentlessly pursued an unknown target.

_Clink. Whirl. Click._

The young girl grew to love the thrill of the road. Though, It wasn't like she had much choice.  
How this machine lived for so long with such an unbothered fatalist was a mystery.  
She visualized speeding away from her problems frequently. Away from worry, from fear, from hunger, and from death.  
Not to mention the dead itself.

_Clink. Whirl. Click._

  
As the roar of the sports car rang out into the clear forest air, walking corpses were lured out of the trees in clusters. The rotting flesh of the walkers futilely pursued the sound in spite of decomposition's protest.  
Clementine gazed straight ahead, barely acknowledging the world outside of the claustrophobic comfort of the vehicle.

"That one had a big knife in it's chest, Mama!" A little girl exclaimed. Her dark, frizzy curls bounced with the car, tied back in pigtails. She shoved her hand on the cracked glass of the rear windshield, and pointed to a specific decaying figure.  
"Lets go back and get it!"

_Clink. Whirl. Click._

A slender hand tilted the rear-view mirror to the back seat. Sharp golden eyes shifted into the reflection, impulsively scanning. Between two older children, the young girl sat awkwardly on her knees, staring into the depths of the forest behind them. 

"They're called machetes, CJ." Clementine assured.  
"Way too big for any of you. Besides, we're making great time. Not worth going back now."  
Her eyes dragged down, noticing the 4 year old's unbuckled seat belt.  
"Turn around and buckle up for me, please. I don't want you to hurt yourself."

 _Clink. Whirl. Click._  
  
"Yes Ma'am." The girl muttered with disappointment as she did what she was told. Her tattered jeans made a sleek squeak against the faux leather seat as she slid down.

"Gross! Don't call me 'Ma'am'." The teen snorted, "That makes me sound old."

"But you are." A bored voice uttered.

Amber eyes averted from the road into the mirror once again. Directly behind the driver's seat sat a youthful, olive-skinned boy holding a bundle in his arms. He wore green cargo pants and a grey jacket with his hood on, pushing tight, black curls to frame his face.  
Clementine made a mental note to cut his hair when they got the chance.  
The young boy gave an unknowing look to the mirror, until he met Clementine's grim gaze.

OJ tensely lifted his head, and stammered at his mistake, "Old-ER, I mean. I thought you said it was polite."

"Yeah, but to other people, not me."

_Clink. Whirl. Click._

" _What_ other people?" He mumbled coldly, briefly turning back to the window. He lightly bounced the bundle on his knee, erupting gurgles and giggles from the lumpy cloth.

"How's DJ doing back there?" The young girl tried to engage the child in light conversation. The corners of her lips twitched upwards.

The hooded boy returned her lukewarm grin through the mirror, "He's okay. Maybe a little bored."

"Aren't we all?" She joked.

"As in wound up. I think he needs to stretch out."

Clementine momentarily squeezed her eyes closed; what she wouldn't do to be able to stand straight for just a minute.  
"Don't we all." She sighed, more to herself than the others. She returned her focus on the barren street. They passed occasional corpses, both dead and alive.

_Clink. Whirl. Click._

"I'm sure _he'd_ have room, at least." She said, not looking away from the windshield.  
"Let him stretch, OJ. I'm sure that blanket is stuffy."

The baby babbled with glee as the blanket around him unraveled. His chubby arms raised over his head in freedom, flaunting his pale gray shirt and frayed overalls. DJ rolled around the boy's lap, unintentionally kicking the car's door with his scuffed sneakers.

" _Hola, Mijo!_ " Clementine cooed at the sight of the infant, fondly smiling into the mirror, " _¿cómo estás_ , Deej?"

The baby squealed affectionately at the girl's golden eyes through the refection. He reached out for his substitute mother until a strange noise caught his attention.

**_Clink. Whirl. Click._ **

The click and roll of AJ's revolver finally drew everyone's notice. Clementine lightly pushed the mirror to reflect the little boy.

"Whatcha doin' there, Goofball?" Her voice tinged in annoyance.

"Pretending I got bullets." He said matter-of-factly. **_Clink. Whirl. Click._**

"Well don't." She cracked, "It's getting on my nerves."

AJ listened and sat up sluggishly, placing his pistol next to him, "I don't like goofball..."  
"I'm too big for it." He frowned, staring at the floor board.

"Would you prefer Shitbird?" She quipped, looking at the reflection of the dispirited children in hopes of a smile.  
The jest erupted giggles from everyone in the backseat. Clementine gleamed at successfully making her kids laugh for the first time in days.

"No!" AJ laughed, "That's mean!"

" **You're** a shitbird!"

CJ gasped and cupped her hands around her mouth in shock. She faced her mother to look for disapproval or objection.

"You just called Clem a shitbird!" OJ laughed out loud. He held the wriggling infant in his arms, giving unaware gaggles at the chaos in the vehicle's enclosure.

The young woman noticed her unsettled daughter in the backseat and gave her a glint of a smile through the mirror.  
"Don't worry, Sweet Pea. I've been called plenty worse." She assured, tilting the mirror to center her.

"Like what?" The inquisitive little girl peered into her mother's eyes through the mirror. She lowered her hands back into her lap, playing with the sleeves of her pastel hoodie.  
OJ leaned forward in his seat, anticipating names for ammo in his next argument.

Clementine opened her mouth to answer, but was cut off by AJ's dismal face in the corner of her vision. He gave an aching grimace as he clutched his stomach.

"What's wrong?" Concern quickly filled her voice.

"I'm hungry." He muttered, looking dolefully at the mirror. 

"Hi Hungry, I'm Omid."  
  
"I really am." The boy shot daggers at OJ and trailed his wistful eyes back to Clem's.

The girl sighed in defeat as she took her eyes off of the barren road to the passengers side. All that was left is half a bag of stale potato chips. Next to could be worthy distraction: a Disco Broccoli toy, and a grimy magazine with half of the title scraped off.  
' _Worth a try,_ ' She thought.  
Clem slid the magazine to AJ, "Here, practice your reading. No helping, OJ." The boy gave a smirk that was seen through the mirror "-And no messing with him, either!"

Omid Jr. leaned back with a bored expression as his plan foiled. CJ slid closer to AJ as he opened the stained pages, tracing the letters on the beige sheets.

"But I don't wanna." He moaned, shaking his head.

"It'll take your mind off your stomach." Clem smiled warmly at him through the mirror.

The boy sighed discontentedly as he turned back to the magazine.

"Preee-heat... oven. . .

"P-l-ace cream, va-ni-lla bean- beans! - Into a s-auce pan and bring to a boi-ial-"

"Uh, on second thought, never mind." Clem interrupted. AJ closed the pages much to CJ's dismay.  
"That's only gonna make you hungrier."

CJ grabbed the magazine out of AJ's lap and flipped through the pages, despite her illiteracy. OJ leaned in and admired the appetizing photos.  
With a sigh, Clementine looked to the passenger seat again and grabbed the Disco Broccoli toy.

"Hey kids!" The plaything shook with every word thrown over Clem's shoulder, "It's me, Disco Broccoli! Word on the street is that you wanna eat me. Is that true? _Do you wanna eat me?_ "

The little girl grinned with glee at the toy and took it from Clementine's hand. She muttered nonsense as she played make believe with the green object. OJ snatched the tossed aside cooking magazine with a fond smile, and flipped through the pages with trouble. DJ grabbed at every picture, expecting a delicious meal to be pulled out.

"C'mon, Clem. We can't eat a toy." AJ expressed dolefully, watching CJ bounce the broccoli around her lap.

"Careful, AJ, you'll hurt his feelings."

"Well my stomach hurts."

Clem chuckled, "When did you get so sassy?"

With one hand, the teen reached for the chips. Her smile dropped at how nearly weightless the bag was.

"Here you go." She dismally expressed as she passed AJ the bag, "It's about all we got, guys. Make sure you share."

"What about you?" AJ asked.

"Don't worry about me." Clementine shrugged, "We'll find something else soon."

"We believe you, Mama." CJ assured. She squeezed the Disco Broccoli toy and it made a small squeak.

Clementine smiled sadly at her children through the mirror one last time before returning her full attention to the road. For the next hour, she'd sit in silence listening to her stomach groan in protest to putting her children first.

* * *

"We gonna do it?" AJ asked Clementine. The car sputtered and popped in front of a derailed train. Next to it was a decrepit structure, seemingly being an old train station. The sun shun brightly against the husk of what once a bustling building. They all stared at the premises in silence, concentrating on any distant groans of dead cannibals. 

"Think so." She answered.

"It looks clear." OJ muttered, staring out of the window. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a small revolver.   
He gave a glum face as he unlatched the cylinder.  
"I'm empty."

"Figures." Clem sighed.  
The teen turned in the driver's seat, facing the children.

"Why can't I have a gun?" CJ whined.  
"You're too young right now. You don't listen as it is." Clem banted, "A knife is fine for now. Where is it?"

The little girl drew a silver blade from her back pocket and unfolded it.

"Good girl. OJ, Where's yours?"

"Right here." The 7 year old showed off a sheathed survival knife as big as his head.

"Great. AJ, you can borrow my switchblade until we find you bullets." She explained as she drew a silver rod from her side pocket.  
"You know how to open it?"

AJ eagerly took the weapon, and pushed the button on the middle of the rod. A thin, steel blade fluttered out.  
"Yeah."

"Lets do this."  
Clementine jumped out of the car in a fluid motion and walked to the trunk, leaving the door open for her children to climb out. The trunk creaked open, revealing many objects:  
  
A backpack, a crowbar, an empty water container, an empty glass baby bottle, a bullet inflicted toy, various small formula and baby food jars, and a tattered pink baby carrier. The same baby carrier she held all of her children in at one point in their lives.  
The young woman picked up the red vegetable toy and evoked a squeak from the little girl suddenly next to her.

"Which one is that?!" CJ chirped. She held a lump in her hoodie pocket, seemingly the broccoli toy.

"I can't remember his name clearly. Rhubarb Base or something like that." Clem replied with a shrug, handing the plaything to the girl.  
"Starting a collection?" She joked, erupting a small grin out of the small girl.

"Roo -bar base." AJ enunciated as clear as he could, now on the other side of Clem.

"Close enough." Clem gave him an assuring smile.

"Do you think we could find them all?" CJ hoped.

"We'll see."

Clementine looked back at the trunk of the car and grabbed her backpack, putting the crowbar, and empty water container inside.  
_'What are the chances there'll be clean water here?'_  
She peered at the small empty jars, grabbing the glass bottle and whatever was left of DJ's food.   
_'And baby food.'_

"Do you want to hold DJ or should I?" Omid Jr. knocked Clementine out of her thoughts, carrying the baby with one hand and pointing at the old baby carrier with the other.

"You've been holding him for hours, let me." Clem stated. She threw the carrier around her and snapped herself into it, securing it tight in it's place.  
"You'll have to hold the backpack, though. If that's alright."  
The young boy nodded as Clementine kneeled down and ushered him to strap the gurgling baby into place. With a click and a pull, the infant was secure and wrapped his tiny legs gently around the teen's back. The frayed, thin straps of the carrier dug into her shoulders, but she refused to let it get to her. OJ's comfort was much more important than hers.

"Clem, look!" AJ loudly whispered from a few yards away. CJ stood meekly next to him. He pointed at a wooden sign attached to a fence post. A rusted bell hung under it- a fray of rope tied around the clapper. The teenager trotted to him and the 7 year old followed suit, adjusting the backpack to better support his light frame.

"Fri-endly? Ring bell. No Tress-pass-ing." He read out loud.

"Good, AJ." She smiled fondly at him.

The boy turned to her, "But what does it mean?"

OJ spoke up, "It means the people here shoot first."

"It means," Clementine corrected, "If you don't mean any harm, ring the bell. It's their way of telling the difference between good people, and people who want to steal."  
She gave an encouraging smile to OJ, "But you're right. If they catch you on their territory without ringing the bell, they'll probably assume you're bad and shoot."

"So we ring it?" CJ chirped. She looked at her caretaker in curiosity.

"Yes- but only once. No unnecessary noises."

The little girl smiled and tugged the hanging rope. A single pure, high-pitched chime rang throughout the area.

"What now?" AJ Whispered. The older girl put a finger over her lips as response. CJ imitated her mother with a small finger on her own, staring at the dilapidated building.

A low groan escaped the rotting lips of a walker fumbling around in search of the bell's toll. Par from the dead, the area was completely silent. The kids gripped their blades in defense.   
"Damn. If walkers are around, this place might be abandoned."  
Clementine pulled her survival knife out of her pocket. "Stay back, everyone," She commanded gently.  
The girl slowly stepped towards the monster, and took out it's knee. As it went down, she fluidly stabbed the walker in it's head. She silently scoped out the area before returning to her children.

"It's down. I don't see any more. Still with me?" She asked, grazing each of her kid's faces.

"Yep. No bites." AJ grinned at his caretaker. OJ smiled, holding CJ's hand so she wouldn't wander off. 

"Next, we get in there." Clem gestured to the old train station.  
"You know the drill. OJ, make sure CJ doesn't get into trouble. AJ, listen closely."

With a smile, the kids nodded at their guardian and went about their way; looking around for anything worth their attention.

* * *

"Mama, look what we found!" CJ excitedly chimed like a bell. She came around the corner of the train station, running towards her mother with a large deer skull over her head.  
Her voice rang around the silent field, bouncing off of derailed train cars. A small murder of crows took flight to find peace once again. Clementine cringed at the sudden noise, wishing her voice didn't echo far. She ignored her child's unexpected volume, hoping it was a one-off time out of excitement.

"Let me see." She suggested as the little girl immediately handed her the cranium. Dust fell of with each movement the skull made. The bone was pure white, as if it was picked clean by vultures. The antlers were brown, strong, and sturdy. The only things missing from the deer skull were the mandible, and a few upper teeth. No cracks, no dents. It made Clem wonder how this animal perished.  
"This is beautiful, Sweet Pea. Where did you find this?"

"I found it on a big barrel beside the house," The girl smiled brightly, pointing at the direction she came, "I couldn't reach it so OJ got it for me."

' _Must have been a hunting trophy._ ' She thought.  
Clementine admired the skull, tilting it in different directions, until a tiny hand from behind her reached for an antler.

" _Pensé que estabas durmiendo._ " She happily muttered, smiling at the baby attached to her back. _I thought you were sleeping._

She waved her finger in front of DJ's hand, laughing at his small gaggles of joy.

"It'd make a nice hood ornament," She told CJ as she handed back the skull, "Where's OJ? Give it to him so he can put it in the backpack."

"Yes ma'am!" CJ chirped as she ran off before Clementine could scold her.  
The teenage girl sighed as she looked around- the sun shined warmly against her face. Birds chirped around overgrown vegetation, taking back the space once theirs. She stepped in no general direction, hearing the crunch of pebbles against each other and the dirt beneath her. Light shone through the leafless branches of dead trees; its shadowy arms stretching at random. In one thick branch, a pale rope hung down, tied around an old tire glared at by AJ.  
Clementine stepped next to the tire swing. AJ apprehensively pushed the tire, giving it a puzzled look.

"Monster trap?" He asked, afraid of the tire swing setting off.

She gave the little boy a sad smile, "It's not a trap. It's a swing. You get into it and someone pushes you."  
  
"Why?" He looked up at his caretaker and scrunched his face.

"For fun." She answered sorely.

The boy bent down to peer into the dangling tire.  
  
"Huh," He muttered, smiling, "I want to try."  
He sat up straight, "After we clear this place."  
  
Clementine nodded, eyeing the little boy sadly. Her heart ached at the fact that her children never experienced a true childhood.  
She peered towards the weathered building. The sight of crops in a fenced off yard caught her attention. She trotted to the small farmyard until she felt a tug behind her. Looking over her shoulder, she smiled at DJ grasping a shirt on the clothesline.

"Gross!" Clem laughed, reaching behind her to pull the shirt away from him.  
" _No sabes dónde ha estado eso._ " She cooed. _You don't know where that's been._

The baby simply gaggled at his caretaker and smiled with an empty mouth. He fluttered his palms open and closed in protest of the piece of soft fabric being taken away from him. Clementine held out the shirt in front of her- it reeked of mildew, dirt and rain. There were large holes and the color was so worn out it was indistinguishable.  
' _Maybe purple?_ ' She thought to herself. She squinted at the writing on the chest of the shirt. It was extremely faded but she could make it out.  
"Virginia," She read aloud, "I'd've thought we'd hit Ohio by now."

"What's a Virginia?" OJ asked as he walked towards her, holding CJ's hand.

"It's a state," She started to answer, before noticing his confused glare, "Think of it as a really big territory. If we ever find a map I'll teach you geography."

"Look Mama, it's a garden!" CJ veered, pointing to the plot of impoverished, fenced off land.

"Don't get too excited," The teenage girl popped up, tossing the shirt aside, "It looks pretty overgrown. Whoever used to grow things here is long gone."

"Oh." The girl muttered sheepishly. Clementine noticed her smile quickly fade.

The young woman swiftly kneeled in front of the little girl. She gently hooked her daughter's chin and planted a tender kiss on her forehead, erupting snorts and giggles from the girl and quickly drying her wet eyes.

"I'm sorry, Sweet Pea." Clementine locked eyes with her, glinting warmly into her little girl's brown.  
  
"Can we have a garden one day?" She asked.

"I promise, I'll try my best." She assured her.

* * *

"What do we do inside a new place?" Clementine asked. She kneeled alongside her children in front of the recently pried open door. She handed the crowbar back to OJ, who stuffed it back into the backpack.

"We listen for monsters." AJ muttered, crossing his arms.  
  
"After that?"

"We. . . Find a way out!" CJ peeped excitedly.  
  
"Good girl." 

Clementine slowly rose and opened the door, knife in hand. The door's paint flaked off with the movement and the rusted hinges whined. As she walked inside, the groans of two tied up walkers made her jumped back, startling the infant in his harness. Soft cries filled the room, catching the walkers' attention.

" _Está bien._ It's okay." The teen girl cooed at the baby, " _Todo va a estar bien._ "  
She smiled as the baby started to calm. _Everything's gonna be alright._

"Why are there dead people in here? Monsters are usually outside." AJ asked, looking up at the teenage girl.

"There were probably alive people, and then something happened that made them dead." CJ interjected. She scrunched up her face in concentration.

"Great analysis, CJ," OJ sarcastically muttered, looking around the walkers' bodies, "Why they're tied up is a better question."  
He cautiously approached them, looking around for evidence of any struggle. Nearly impossible, with the amount of rubble.  
"The one with the weird eyes has the key to something." He observed.

"They can't get us?" AJ asked.

Clementine followed OJ to the walkers. She looked at their grotesque faces with distain, "No, they can't."

The smell of rotten flesh violated her nose. Her face scrunched in disgust. No matter what she did, she still never got used to the smell.

"Front door's the only way out," CJ informed the others, pointing at the red door. She trotted to the ticket booth's security door, "Unless there's something behind there. It's locked, though."

"Good girl, CJ." The teenage girl encouraged her.

Omid Jr. grasped at a small black bottle next to the male walker's feet, "Poison." He mumbled.

"Did they give up?" AJ looked up at his adoptive brother.

"They-" Clementine interjected, "...wanted to leave this world together," She looked at the corpses sadly; their hands duct taped together, "Holding hands in their own home."

"Will we have a home?" The 5 year old boy asked her.

"One day."

"And there's a note right here." OJ interrupted as he lifted the paper to his face.

"What does it say?" Clem asked.

"Please leave us alone." He started, squinting at the parchment, "This is what we wanted."

Clementine placed a calming hand on the 7 year old's shoulder. He looked up at her with a sad smile. She knew they would never give up that way, or any way. They would fight this war until the end. 

With a sigh, Clementine stretched, and stepped around the room. Her footsteps echoed on the wooden floor. Ivy vines twisted its way through broken windows, shifting in the small winds. The room was lightly illuminated by a decaying hole in the ceiling, allowing sun to shine through. It looked like nature took this structure back over.

She turned to her kids and noticed AJ with his head down, playing with his fingers. His eyes looked weary and watery.

"What's wrong?" She immediately asked. He didn't answer.

Clem kneeled in front of him, sharing his frown. Sometimes she forgets that he's still only 5 years old.

"Are you hurt?" She asked calmly. AJ shook his head.

She sighed, "Angry?" He shook his head again.

"Are you sad?" Clem questioned as she wiped a tear away. His tears could mean anything.

No answer.

"Hungry?" She asked. He nodded.

Clem sighed, "I understand, bud. We're gonna find something, I promise."

AJ still didn't look up.

She stared at him with sad eyes, "Do you want a hug?"

He lightly nodded.

Clem swiftly pulled him into a tight embrace, a soft pressure building in her eyes.  
" _Estará bien._ " She hummed. The girl rubbed his back as he let out small sniffles. A knot formed in her throat. Every little whimper from him pulled a string in her heart.  
"Everything's gonna be fine, okay?" She softly muttered.

"Okay," AJ answered meekly. He pulled away from the hug gently and gave the girl a weak smile, "I think I'm okay now."

"Great." The girl smiled back warmly as she stood back up.  
She turned her head to see CJ knocking around bottles and plates on the old dining table in front of her.

"Be careful, CJ. Don't cause a racket." She warned the little girl, giving her a soft glare.

"But look Mama, beans!" She cheerfully exclaimed as she lifted a jar filled with red. Clementine stared in amazement as she wandered over. CJ eagerly handed her mother the jar, proud of herself for finding such a treasure.

"Homemade." Clementine smiled. Omid Jr. took the jar from the teen's grip and carefully placed it in his backpack.  
"Great find, Sweet Pea. Might be more where this came from," She said, looking onto the ticket station. It must be where they keep their stash. "Now about this door."

"It's locked." CJ reminded her.

Clementine peered into the ticket booth window, "Too small to crawl through. Well, for me." She muttered aloud.

"What do you see?" AJ asked, standing on his toes over the ticket counter.

"Some cans," She muttered in response, "Might still be edible."  
She noticed a light spark in his eyes.  
"Don't get your hopes up." She warned.

The girl shrugged, "Either the key or the window. Those are our options."

"We should kill the monsters," AJ told the teenager, "They have the key. They're not people."

"No!" Omid voiced, staring at his adoptive brother in distaste, "They don't want to die. You respect other's wishes. Always."

"OJ's right," Clementine declared, "As people they asked to be left alone. But that means someone has to go through the window."

"I'll go," The 7 year old volunteered, "I'm small enough."

"Are you sure? You don't have to."

"Yes." He strongly nodded, staring his mother figure in the eye.   
"Boost me up." 

OJ grunted as he climbed through the gate's window.

"Once you're through, unlock this door." Clementine urged him.

"I know, don't worry." A youthful voice echoed in the room as he landed on the other side.

Clem, AJ, and CJ all walked to the metal door with bated breath. They waited anxiously as they heard his footsteps. Clementine looked behind her; the walkers frivolously threw their arms at her and her children, groaning with hunger. Memories of another train station flashed into her head as she listened to their roars. A knot formed in her throat as she turned back to door.  
"Omid!" She panicked, almost reaching for the door before it flung open. OJ appeared on the other side, safe and sound.  
"I shouldn't have let you do that." She muttered, calming herself down, "That could have been way too dangerous. _Podría haberte perdido._ "  
_I could have lost you._

"But I'm fine, aren't I?" He wiggled his eyebrows at the girl, making her snort. Same old goofy OJ.

"Yeah, mostly."

Everyone wandered into the ticket booth, staring in amazement at the random assortment of objects.  
"They had a good thing going here." Clementine stated sadly, staring at the room. Shelves stacked to the top with empty bottles and cans, knickknacks and candles. It seemed clean, for the most part.

"Could we stay here?" AJ asked

"We'll see." She replied, giving him a hesitant smile.

"No one's here." The little boy shrugged, "No one's ever anywhere."

"There's a lot of bad people, AJ." Clementine warned.  
"Be careful what you wish for."

"There must be good ones, too." He said sheepishly. He looked around the room in solace, before having his eye caught on something. He smiled as he ran to the desk on the other side of the room, and grabbed at a semi-circle shaped piece of metal. 3 bullets were conjoined onto the half moon clip he clutched. He quickly pulled out his revolver and pushed the clip into the cylinder.  
"Just a few." He gleamed at his caretaker before noticing Omid Jr.'s slightly jealous disposition,  
"It was on a clip, I'm sorry. I'd share if I knew how to pull it apart," He contested.

The 7 year old shrugged at his sibling with a grin, "It's okay. You're a better shot than me anyways."

"Remember what we said?" Clementine started, leaning on her knees to match AJ's height.

"You. . ?"

"Aim for the head?" CJ chirped as the walked over. She twiddled with the toys she kept in her pockets.

"Well, yes. And . . ?"

"Use a bullet as a last resort." OJ turned to her. He clutched the handle of his knife sheathed to his leg. Holding onto it was a welcome habit he started to form.

"Of course. Good job, OJ. But there's one more. We. . ?"  
Her golden eyes trailed wistfully to each of her children's individual faces.   
  
"Save the last bullet for anyone that's bitten, including myself." AJ turned to Clementine with cold in his eyes. Her heart broke at the lengths she had to go through to teach him.

"That's right." She sadly whispered.  
"Let's keep looking." She encouraged as she stood back up, "There's gotta be something we can eat."

Her trio nodded as they looked around. OJ searched around the desk that held AJ's bullets, hoping for a clip of his own. Alvin Jr. looked over a tall shelf, grimacing as he picked up more and more empty cans. CJ bounced around the room, looking at anything worth her attention. She turned to one corner, and smiled at the sight before her.  
"A crib!" She gleamed, catching Clementine's attention. The teenager turned towards her and shared her excitement. A crib. An _actual crib_.   
"Maybe there's baby food." She hoped, muttering to herself. She practically stumbled over in excitement and searched everywhere around the cradle, tossing aside broken bottles and dented, empty cans.

"We didn't see a kid." AJ spoke up, furrowing his brow.

"No, no we didn't." Clementine's voice grew desperate. Her smile slowly dampened as she kept finding empty jars, but no actual infant food.  
She sighed, "Might be why they... Gave up." Her stance turned sour as her ray of hope diminished, just like it always did. Pressure emanated behind her eyes. She can't lose another person. She _won't_.

"We might not find baby food, but at least we have a good chance of finding food-food." OJ piped up, noticing his caregiver's pressured posture. He gave her an assuring smile, picking up a dented peach can hidden behind a cabinet. He handed the teenage girl the bent can and received a warm gaze.  
Clem screened the can: The expiration date was useless, as she could barely figure out the year, not to mention the month. The can itself looked competent enough, but when you're hungry, anything looks good.  
Her smile quickly vanished as she noticed a puncture in the corner of the dent. Mold creeped its way through the hole, black and fuzzy.  
"Shit. spoiled." She croaked, "I'm sorry guys, these are long gone."

"Fuck." AJ cursed as he scrunched his face. He folded his arms in frustration, kicking the old hardwood floor.

"Watch the swears." Clementine warned, tossing the rotted can.

"You said shitbird before!" He retorted.

"Do as I say, not as I do."

The can rolled towards the bed, bumping into something poking out of the floor.  
"Look!" CJ pointed at the odd corner under the bed.

"Something's under there." Clem muttered to herself. She pushed the bed with as much force as her hunger-weak body could spare. Her muscles shortly ached as she reached back up. The corner appeared now as a trap door- appearing to be strong and sturdy. The door itself looked diamond treaded, The frame even stronger. The teenage girl filled with anxiety once again, hoping they wouldn't need a key.

"Floor door?" AJ asked. OJ responded to him with a simple nod.

"Must have wanted to hide something." She said aloud. She pulled the door with as much strength as she could muster. An odd click and drop was heard as the door unlatched, but was shaken off as the sound of the door groaning in protest of being open. A rope dangled sinisterly, attached to the door. Clementine stared in the hidden storage space with amazement. Countless cans, bottled water and jars of food flooded the small underground vault. She managed to gaze at what could possibly be baby food jars, as well.

"Look at all of that food!" OJ voiced with glee.

"That's a lot of stuff." AJ attested. He smiled at the older girl.

"We could eat for weeks with this much." Her eyes glazed over in hunger. They all would finally be able to eat soon.

A small green object rolled into the middle of the small chamber. Clementine's eyes focused lazily on the rolling round object, before alarms sounded in her brain. It was a _grenade_.  
"It's rigged!" She yelled. The gears in her head shifted into panic mode.  
Instinctively, the girl slammed the metal trapdoor shut and flung herself onto her children, sparing them as much as she possibly could from the immediate blast. An orange fist filled the room in short-lived flames, the room's windows shattering from the immediate pressure. Tiny pieces of metal and glass showered down in a deadly rainfall. The panicked wails of an infant was all that could be heard above the ringing of her ears.

"Oh, God... DJ!" She cried out as she sat up on her knees, immediately reaching for the bundle behind her.

"I've got him." OJ yelled, the ringing obviously affecting him as well. He ripped the small infant off of her back, breaking the carrier in the process. The boy held the baby tightly against himself, lightly pushing his head into his chest to avoid any injury.  
Clementine looked around hazily at her children. They all appeared scuffed and lightly bruised, but not maimed. Without thinking, she pulled all of them in a tight embrace, carefully as to not harm DJ.  
Tears immediately rushed from her eyes. As hard as she tried to stop them, her eyes refused to listen.  
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." She repeated, "I shouldn't have brought you here."

"We have other things to worry about!" OJ shouted, running towards the window at her grasp's release. Walkers started pouring into the shallow distance, moaning for their next meal.

Clementine quickly ran to the door, kicking it nearly off it's hinges. She looked around the porch. Her vision was disfigured and blurred, but she could make out the distant walking corpses rapidly multiplying.  
"We need to get to the car, now!" She yelled at her children. Her heart pounded in her ears, almost covering the explosion's ring and DJ's wails. Her hands shook as she jerked her knife from her pocket, gripping it hard enough to sting.

"Be my eyes as I clear a path!" She demanded to her children. Alone, she takes out two walkers bounding for her. The girl tensed as she watched AJ run to another walker and trap it with an abandoned door.  
"Good, AJ!" She affirmed to the boy as she stabbed the monster in the head. Together, they look around before bounding to the sports car.   
OJ quickly climbed into the vehicle first, holding the shrieking infant tightly. CJ bounded into the back immediately after, followed by AJ. 

Clementine hurdled into the car swiftly after her children, tossing aside the fragmented remains of the baby carrier and her knife. She slammed the door, only to hear the disgusting splatter of a walker in the way, reaching inside. Failing to reach her tossed aside knife, the girl stabbed the walker in the eyes with her keys to distract it enough to kick open the door, freeing it from the monster's grasp. Slamming the door closed, she promptly gave a deep breath to collect herself. Walkers bounded for them, pounding on every surface of the car.  
"Shit!" She cursed at herself. The keys were in the walker's eye socket in front of the car. She quickly devised a plan- She shifted the gear into neutral, and released the brakes. The car rolled forward, catching the walker onto the bumper as the vehicle crashed into a tree. Once stopped, she shattered the windshield into pieces and crawled onto the hood to rip the keys out of the creature's head. The monster screeched at the girl, unable to reach her.  
Clementine twisted the key into the ignition until the engine started to clamor. She clutched the steering wheel, her hands wringing so tightly her nails dug into her palms.  
"Buckle up!" She demanded and pounded into reverse, crashing into three more walkers. The teenager shifted gears and stomped the gas, pulsing forward until a walker broke the driverside window. The dead cannibal reached to take a chunk out of her, until it's head was pushed into the door frame. Holding the dead down with all the strength she could muster, she shoved the vehicle forward one more time, driving as fast as she could.   
  
The teenage girl suddenly heard the screams of her children as her head fluttered hazily. Her eyes started to darken, no matter how hard she protested to keep focus. She felt gravity spin around her. She revived her vision faintly: It looked as if the car was rolling downhill, bouncing her and her children around like dolls. It was getting increasingly hard to focus. The car had flipped so many times that Clementine had become disorientated before she even sustained the concussion that had her drifting in and out of consciousness. 

  
Clementine smelt smoke. Lots of smoke. She tried to cough but to no avail. Any movement in her chest gave her great pain. She wanted to scream but she couldn't feel her throat. She could only taste metal, as if she was sucking on a coin. She tried spitting the coin out, but was only met with strange, thick red liquid running down her face and into a pool under her. She struggled to comprehend the situation she seemed to be in. Her eyes suddenly felt very heavy, and she let them close to alleviate the pressure behind them.

She opened her eyes again, and could finally see. She looked around, her hat was flung limply on the ceiling with her. She turned towards the shattered window and noticed walkers being gunned down. She heard unfamiliar voices yelling, but no gunshots. She looked closer. They were being shot down by little sticks. ' _Arrows_ ,' she finally thought.

_DANGER_

She heard the weak yelling again, and a familiar cry. It was DJ crying, wailing for her. Clementine tried her damnedest to turn towards her children, but was only met with more warm liquid and weakness. She could barely lift her arm an inch before it gave out. She started to utter a voice, but was met with one of the most intense pains in her life, emanating from her chest as the fabrics under her leather jacket quickly stained with red. She couldn't bare the thought of her children being taken away again. She fought through the excruciating pain and weakly managed the words, "No, please . . ." Weird, warm liquid spilling out of her mouth with every word, "Please. . ." 

She suddenly felt lighter, as if she was floating. Her eyes forced themselves closed and she met darkness once again.


	2. Placeholder

Hello! Sorry. This is a placeholder chapter as I edit and spruce up things. This chapter has been attached to Chapter 1.


	3. The School

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've recently learned that Ruby is 4'9''. Hearing that makes me feel happy. #ShortySquad
> 
> I've changed the bedroom a bit! The room now has mattresses on each bunk, so every kid has their own place to sleep if they choose.
> 
> Special thanks to Dragonkiller9 for helping come up with neat little ideas to better the story. You're awesome, dude.

* * *

_"What the hell happened?!_ _What the fuck did you do to Clementine?!"_

_"Calm down, Kenny, I didn't do anything, I found her this way!"_

_"Fuck you, you didn't do nothin', fucking look at her!"_

_"Fuck me? Fuck you! I'm just tryin' to help!"_

_"Luke! Kenny! Stop with the bullshit already. She needs medical attention!"_

_"Where the fuck is Carlos?!"_

* * *

Charcoal swirls of nothingness slowly transfigured into bright shapes of lines and colors as Clementine's eyes pressed closed in pain. Her eyes felt unable to be pried open. Her head throbbed. She struggled to remember any recent memories; whether it being from dehydration or her gnarling headache, she couldn't tell.  
She attempted to collect herself by taking a deep breath, but was cut off by a pang in her spasming chest. She tried groaning in protest, but her weary voice broke in strain.  
God, she hated feeling helpless.  
She traveled around her mind, searching for why she was in such pain. Something about... a train.  
  
' _A train?_ ' Clementine thought, ' _But I haven't been on a train since. . ._ '

She thought harder, despite the pounding headache. A train... station. Yeah, a train station. That sounds about right. 

' _But why would we be at a train station?_ '

Her chest shakily heaved. She didn't know whether to be afraid or confused. Her aching body yelled at her to worry about it later.

' _We were scavenging, until. . ._ '

A blurry, bumpy, green ball rolled into her head.

_'The train station was rigged'_

She remembered her children's screams as they rolled into a ditch.

_'My kids!'_

Clementine shot up in panic, despite the rush of agony in her head that would have made her yelp in pain if not for her dry throat and twinging in her chest. 

"Where the hell are they?" She croaked urgently, as if there was someone with her. Her eyes cracked open against the sunlit room. Broken, beige colored walls connected to a popcorn ceiling. Large holes littered the wall's structure, exposing wooden beams and rusted metal pipes. A derelict ceiling fan hung in the middle of the room- an oil lantern strung onto it, tied around the blades.  
The room appeared to be some type of dormitory: Rusty metal bunk beds paralleled each other across the room, each bunk with a stained mattress. One of which she laid upon, to the left of a shattered and barred window.  
The girl hazily grazed over the dresser in front of the window. Shards of glass littered the wooden surface, some caked with dried blood. Next to a particularly large, bloody shard sat a small, menacing black bottle Clementine knew too well. She cringed as she felt her arm sting all over again.   
The young girl closed her eyes to collect her thoughts until she felt the cold breeze of a draft across her torso. She regrettably lifted her head in panic to find her leather jacket, hoodie, and shirt missing. A red-stained bandage wrapped around her chest spared her of indecency. A rush of pain rose in her head as she groaned in objection. She attempted to raise a hand to cradle her skull but felt the jerk of her arm being attached to the bed frame. Glancing, she noticed duct tape wrapped around her wrist and quickly tore it off with a satisfying rip.

The teenager carefully sat up and scanned the room for her belongings- nothing was to be found. With a defeated sigh, the girl slowly stood on her own, clutching her side.

"Where the hell am I?" She muttered to herself as she glanced through the window. The metal bars grating the opening made her feel like a prisoner. Tall trees and plentiful vegetation were easily seen, but no sign as to who these people could be.

_'Find a weapon'_

She looked down to the oak dresser and opened the drawers. A tattered scrapbook labeled "Memories" were all that was left. She cracked open the book to find glitter, lace, and old photos- All featuring the same two girls. One with a small boy, and another with a different blonde girl. Clementine placed the scrapbook back with a mental shrug and shut the drawer, turning to the room to find makeshift weapon.  
The metal poles of the bunk bed drew her attention, though was pointless. It'd cause too much noise to pull apart. Blowing a harsh breath, the girl scanned the room until her eyes met the sliding doors of the closet.  
Pained, Clementine hobbled to the closet door holding her side. With as much force as her injured body could muster, she slid the door open and peered inside. An old black shirt hung limply onto a pole, looking cleaner than anything she's worn in months. With a sigh of relief, the teenager pulled the shirt off of the hanger and weakly pulled it over herself. Her chest twinged in pain at her movements, but at least she didn't feel as naked anymore.  
She looked into the drab closet- empty shoe boxes littered the floor, but no sign of any blade. Looking up, she noticed a colorful toolbox atop a high shelf.

"Looks promising," She mumbled, "Of course I wouldn't be able to reach it."

Clementine turned around to the chair behind her and slid it over. With difficulty, she climbed the chair and grabbed at the toolbox, careful not to pain herself any more than she has to.

She placed the toolbox onto the desk beside her and unlatched it. The outer shell was pale purple, but littered with faded colorful stickers. The inside seemed a less faded pink, though stained with the crayons and colored pencils that were inside. Under a thin layer of crayons, a pink, plastic pallet knife rested. Clementine reached for the knife- blades rested on each end, short but sharp enough to kill if needed.  
The girl contently limped to the bedroom door and twisted the knob.

"Shit." The girl cursed. The doorknob halted- the door was locked from the outside. She blew a breath as she pulled out the blade in her pocket and jammed it into the door handle's frame. She pushed and twisted the blade until she heard the click of the lock mechanism recoil.  
With a pull, the door slowly groaned inwards.  
Clementine looked around the decrepit hallway. Graffiti littered the walls and doors of whatever this place used to be. She walked down the right end of the hallway. Two more bedroom doors were seen before the hallway ended in a barricade. The teenager checked each one, locked just as hers were.

"Nothing over here," She urged as she walked away from the barricade, "I need to find my kids."

The girl nearly crossed the hallway's corner before she heard the click and whine of an other door being opened. Clementine ran to kneel behind a china cabinet and grasped her side in pain.

Footsteps inched their way around the corner. It was a dark skinned little boy- a bit taller than OJ but still very young. Clementine's brows furrowed. He had a large scar trailing half of his face- appearing to be from some sort of burn.  
The boy crossed the corner and gasped at the open door that once trapped the older girl. He pulled a silver switchblade from his pocket and pointed it towards the door as he peered inside the door frame, looking for the fugitive. The teenage girl grasped her pallet knife in response.  
Clementine waited until the boy's back was turned to lunge at him. The child turned in alarm as he heard the girl raging towards him.  
She pushed his back into the doorframe and held the blade an inch away from his neck. The boy shook in terror.

"Drop the knife. Now." She demanded coldly. Her eyes burned into his. He obeyed immediately, and the sound of metal hitting the ground bounced into their ears. 

" _How about you do the same?_ " A dark voice called out around the corner.  
Clementine turned her head and squinted at a dark figure on the other side of the hallway, still holding the boy hostage. The figure was tall and masculine, from what she could see. He held a large archery bow, pointing an arrow straight at her head.

_'Arrows'_

The dark figure stepped ever so closely.  
"We're not gonna hurt you. We've got your kids- they're safe. Been askin' a lot about you, in fact."

Clementine's eyes widened in solace, "Are they okay? Are they hurt?" She pleaded.  
She felt her breathing accelerate and fingers tremble

"They're fine. If you want to see them again, you'll drop that knife. _Now_." The form growled, "I'm not fuckin' around."

  
_'It's a trick. Don't listen to them.'_  
  
  
"I woke up in a locked room with duct tape around my wrist!" The girl exclaimed in anger, "Why the hell should I trust you?"

  
The figure gave a stern sigh and lowered the bow.  
"There." He assured, "Now drop the knife. Please."

Just as the dark form did, Clementine dropped her blade on the decrepit tiled floor in truce. She shook her head in regret as she backed away from the poor boy frozen in fear. Maybe she shouldn't have been so severe.  
"I'm sorry." She whispered, though she didn't know if he'd heard.

"Good." The form assured, "That's good. I was worried we'd have trouble."

The little boy backed away slowly, hiding behind the shadows along with the dark figure.

The figure sighed in disbelief.  
"Look, if we wanted to hurt you, we would have by now." He said as he sheathed his bow and arrow.  
"Considering the circumstances, I'll let this little standoff slide."  
  
"But you only get one strike."

His words trailed to the back of Clementine's mind as she sorrowfully watched the little boy shake his head in terror. Her heart ached in remorse.

"Now are you gonna behave so I can take you to see your kids?" He knocked her back into the conversation.

"Look," The young girl started, "I- I'm sorry. I don't know where I am o- or who you people are. You can't trust anyone."

"I understand." The figure assured.

"I just want to see my children. Please." She begged.

The figure snickered as he started to walk towards the teenage girl.  
"You could have just asked." He grinned.

With each of the figure's steps, his appearance grew visible. Clementine's eyes furrowed as she noticed his rather odd hairstyle. It appeared to be some type of mullet, and his platinum blond color didn't serve any favors. He wore a distinctive Letterman jacket with a patched "E" on the left chest, matching the sleeves in color. His eyes shun a bright blue, clashing with his jacket's red. His face was plumply chiseled. He looked kind of handsome, in a hillbilly sort of way.  
"Sorry for locking the door and tying you to the bed and all." He began, stopping a few feet away and placing his hands on his hips, "You were in, uhh, pretty rough shape when we found you. We had to take precautions. You know, just in case."

"But you're safe now. So's your children." The young man smiled, "They haven't stopped asking about you, you know. Threatening us for the latest information, that sort of thing..."  
He shook his head in amazement, "The youngest two haven't stopped crying since we put you on lock-down."

Clementine gasped. Her heart twinged in pain.  
"How are they?" She interrupted.

"Fine, mostly. Just cuts and bruises."  
"The baby hasn't stopped crying, no matter what we did. The oldest, OJ? He said only you can calm him down, so we had to give him your jacket. Hope you don't mind,"  
He snickered, "It didn't work though."  
"The little girl seems real attached to you-"

"CJ"

"Yeah, CJ. She hasn't stopped crying for you either. I'm sure she'll be real happy to see you're awake."

Clementine smiled warmly. Her heart throbbed at the chance to see her children again.

"Enough talk. I'm Marlon. That's Tennessee," He started, pointing at the scared child beside him. The little boy bowed his head in discomfort.  
"But uh, call him Tenn for short. He's the one been taking care of you. He, uh, doesn't talk much."

"Clementine." The teenage girl responded. Marlon nodded his head in understanding.  
The girl frowned at the boy, still staring meekly at the floor.  
"I'm sorry, Tenn." She apologized. He didn't answer. She understood and accepted his silence. She's raised 4 kids after all.

"Come on," Marlon interrupted. "Let's go see your kids."

* * *

Marlon politely opened the door for the others, leading into the building's courtyard. Tenn pushed ahead, running outside and into the yard.  
"Don't worry," Marlon assured, "he's just a little shaken up."

Clementine wobbly walked through the doorway and stopped in amazement of the sight before her. The building, now obviously a school, towered over any tree. Vegetation took over much of the land, but what was left seemed the result of a real community. Adolescents walked in and out of the main front doors, stopping to share a few words and returning to whatever business they were attending to. The teenage girl walked over to lean on a nearby brick column, feeling a strain in her chest and head.

"So you've been surviving out there a while, huh?" Marlon piped, encouraging light conversation.

"Yeah, we've been on the road a long time." Clem indulged him.

"Take it you know how to handle yourself?" He started, "Usually don't see people our age alone out in the wild. Especially not one raising 4 children."  
He turned to look at her with sympathy, "I can't imagine what that must've been like."

"My car would disagree." Clementine joked, meeting his eye. She turned away as she felt a pang in her rib cage, lowering her voice to a murmur.  
"It's taken its toll. Been making a lot of mistakes lately. You saw the car. I could've hurt or kill-"

"Don't be so hard on yourself." Marlon interrupted her intrusive thoughts, "You lived, didn't you?"

The teenage girl shrugged in response as they started walking towards the courtyard's center. Tenn watched concernedly as they traveled.  
As they walked, Clementine met the gazes of a few fellow survivors, apparently a part of this community. A shorter stout teenager with an afro met her eyes as he carried firewood towards something. He seemed more or less stoic, though she didn't know his default.  
Walking further, the girl watched as Tennessee ran towards the giant, moss-overrun brick wall on the far end of the courtyard. He whistled a pure, high note to alert a figure on the wall. Squinting, Clem observed the figure to be a lean, blonde teenage girl in a denim vest. The strange girl seemed to lower eyebrows in confusion. Clementine mentally shrugged it off.

"It's good we found you when we did." Marlon exclaimed.  
"It wasn't easy getting you all out of that wreck, and walkers were on the way."

"The car..." Clem started, "Was it totaled?"

"...Yeah."

"Fuck."

"Had to work fast." He proceeded as Clementine felt a pang in her chest that forced her to slow down. She gripped her side in a start, slowing until she noticed a young boy, no older than 12, staring straight at her and breathing heavily.

"I don't know what would've happened if we hadn't seen the smoke..." Marlon continued.

Her brows furrowed at the boy that didn't budge.  
"I... Appreciate it..." She said distractedly.

"All alone with a buncha kids? Not a pleasant thought. I've seen some rough scenes, but that one..."

The strange boy raised his eyebrows at something on her face, and stepped closer. She could understand when you have trouble verbalizing thoughts, but this seemed a bit excessive.

"Hey! You wanna lose some more teeth?" Clementine snapped roughly at the little stranger, "Keep staring."

The strange little boy jumped at Clem's crack and ran off, seemingly embarrassed.

"Was that really necessary?" Marlon asked with annoyance.

"I-I'm sorry." The teenage girl stuttered, "He was-... I just felt uncomfortable with him staring like that."

Marlon shrugged, "You're just new. We haven't seen anything like you in... ever."  
"Not to be rude, but I don't blame him. You're gonna have a gnarly scar there." Marlon muttered as he eyed her face, "We're lucky Ruby patched it up before an infection could get to it."  
  
"What are you talking about?" Clementine questioned, furrowing her brow. Her anxiety rose with each word, but she swallowed it.  
  
"You don't know?"  
  
"Apparently not." She said stoically.  
  
"You had a huge shard of glass pierced in your cheek." Marlon explained, pointing at the side of his own face, "Couple inches lower and it could've pierced your jugular."  
  
That sentence shoved ice up her spine. She lifted a tender hand to her left cheek and sure enough- stitches. How did she not feel them before?  
  
"It was crazy." Marlon continued, "When we found you, you were bleeding everywhere. I'm sure the smell would have attracted the walkers if not for the, you know, explosion."  
  
The words fluttered by Clementine's head, taken aback by how trivial she forced herself to consider another severe injury.  
  
"Add it to the pile I guess." Clementine shrugged, "It's nothing I'm not used to."  
The girl noticed a concerned glare from the boy in her peripherals, but shrugged it off.  
Her eyes trailed to a giant flagpole in the center of the courtyard. A tee shirt flew at full mast.

"What is this place?" She asked, wandering her eyes around everywhere at once.

"You can probably tell this used to be a school." Marlon trailed with pride, "Now, it's whatever we want it to be."  
He placed his hands on his hips in stride.

"And who's in charge?"

"Well... I am." He proudly placed a hand over his heart, "Probably sounds strange, kids run by a kid. But we do alright for ourselves."

"No way something like that could last." Clementine scoffed, "Not for long."

"And yet here we are," He interjected, "saving you and your kids' lives."  
"We must be doin' something right."  
The teenage boy shrugged, "It hasn't been perfect. There, uh, used to be a lot of us, but... you know how it goes."  
"I got us a system in place that works well enough."

"Allow me to make it formal:" Marlon joked, signalling around the entire school's campus.  
"Welcome to Ericson's Boarding School for Troubled Youth!"

Clementine rolled her eyes.

"It sounds like you and your kids both fit _that_ description." He snided with a glint in his eye.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing! I'm just speculating, seeing how you threatened Willy."  
"Then again, it's hard to survive too long these days without being a bit... 'Troubled.'"

Clementine smirked, "Anyone tell you you're pretty nosy, Marlon?" She quipped.

"Maybe I'm graspin' at straws, but..." He scoffed, "Jury's still out on you."  
"Your kids now? Different story. That boy especially- What's his name, AJ? He's definitely trouble. He's been a little terror since he arrived."

"Excuse me?" 

"Lets just say he hasn't been happy without you around. They all haven't, but that one? Ohh boy."

"I'm sure I wouldn't be happy either if I was in a potentially dangerous situation." Clem crossed her arms in frustration.

"Dangerous?" Marlon laughed.  
"Don't worry." He covered, "I have this school completely under control."  
  
The girl rolled her eyes at his response.  
**"YO! MARLON!"** The strange boy from before screamed out, **"WE'VE GOT WALKERS ON THE FENCE!"  
**Clementine immediately cringed from the loud noise. The teenager beside her held his head in his hand. Clem looked towards the boy- he seemed to be on some sort of makeshift guard-post, hung onto the tall brick wall. She looked in surprise at their construction ability.

"Ignore that." Marlon interjected. He sighed before continuing, "I need to take care of this."

He walked backwards, still facing Clementine as he moved.  
"Knowing Willy, it's probably two grandma walkers and an angry squirrel. You got bigger fish."

He turned, now facing the makeshift guarding stand.  
"The kids are inside." He continued, picking up pace, "I think they're with Louis."

"Louis?" The teenage girl questioned.

"Oh, right, uhh... Just listen for the music, you'll find him."  
Those were the last words he spoke to Clementine, before running towards the oddball kid.  
"Get a move on, Willy! And where's your damn weapon?!" He yelled.

The teenage girl rolled her eyes at the humorous exchange and her eyes met with blue of the thin blonde girl's. Clementine attempted a friendly smile and observed the girl look away quickly. She noticed her cheeks glow a pinkish haze as she slowly walked inside the building, clutching onto her side as she lifted herself on each step.


	4. The Piano

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, thank you DragonKiller for your cute little ideas.
> 
> I don't really have anything witty to say, so enjoy!

The mossy mahogany door of the front entrance of the school creaked open as Clementine peered in. The crunch of broken tile and glass under her boots alerted her to the shattered photo albums, vases, and broken paintings cluttering the foyer floor. As the door closed behind her, the cold calm of the outdoors were shut out, and emphasized the tranquil demeanor of the dilapidated room. The serene sound of pianistic melody fluttered to Clementine's ears as she slowly stepped around the entryway. 

_'Just listen for the music,'_ Marlon instructed, _'You'll find him.'_

A wave of nostalgia crashed into her as the piano keys chimed around the room; she hadn't heard the sweet sound of music in years. The melody gave her waves of serenity, though her survival instinct signaled danger. She sighed as she pushed away her fears and allowed the emotion to envelop her- After all, when would be the next time she would actually feel calm?

Clem gazed at the derelict room in awe. The walls were littered in graffiti and moss, yet flaunted a lovely shade of maroon. Ivy ferns grew through the crevices of the magnificent window over the grand staircase, shining light over the elegant rug with an intricate golden emblem of the school.  
She held her side as she stepped closer to the various diplomas still lining the wall.

"Master of Fine Ass," She read aloud, increasingly furrowing her brow as her eyes trailed to each achievement, "Master of Big Ass."

"Juris Doctorate... of Ass."

  
***

With a dead sigh, Clementine wandered around the room, playing Hot & Cold with her ears. It didn't take long for her to find the forlonging corridor. She looked at the shards of glass littering the floor as she trudged down the long hallway, trailing her hand along the wall for support.

With each step she heard every piano key bounce around slightly louder. Her heart fluttered as she heart the soft, familiar voice of her little girl.  
  
She stopped at the large, red wooden doors, and gave a serene sigh before pulling the handle.

"-I think she'll love them." An unfamiliar, masculine voice echoed to her ears. Clementine immediately halted. She peeked through the cracked door to view the situation.

The voice came from a thin, dark skinned teenage boy pressing keys on a beautiful grand piano.  
"Louis." She whispered to herself.  
He was talking to a little girl she immediately identified as her daughter.  
With a pull on her heart string, she viewed around the room for her other children. To the left of the room, OJ sat against the wall, holding a leather bundle Clementine recognized to be DJ wrapped in her jacket.  
The girl smiled and looked to her right. AJ stood, staring at the piano. His face seemed worried. Behind him, a stout, curly redheaded girl stood smiling.  
With a sigh, Clementine opened the door and stepped into the room. No one in the room seemed to notice the new arrival except for the ginger teenage girl.

"'Bout time you woke up!" The unknown girl exclaimed cheerfully.

The sudden welcome caused all of her children to turn on her heel.

"Mama!" CJ yelled as Clementine heard her children bound for her.

The teenage girl felt a rush of pain swim to her head as her back hit the ground. The rush made her head spin and her chest throb in pain, but she couldn't stop smiling. She didn't care how much it hurt, as long as her children were okay. As her ears' ringing started to dull, she heard the panicked voices of the two other teenagers.

"I'm happy to see you too," She managed as she pulled both of the small children in a tight embrace, ignoring the other's alarm.

"Are you okay?" A young familiar voice whimpered in worry. Clem cracked her eyes open to find her vision disfigured and blurry. She squinted to identify the figure as her OJ.

"Yeah...Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry," She croaked. Her head felt warmer with each throb. It was a strange, yet familiar warmth. Almost wet. She looked around the room to see Louis and the unknown girl with panicked faces. ' _Here we go again._ ' She thought, and rolled her eyes.

"Don't worry? Your head wound's bleedin' again!" The redhead clamored as she ran to the laying woman and pressed her hand against the bandages on her head. AJ and CJ shot off of the hurt girl and shared frightened faces.  
"Gosh, you musta popped a stitch." She hilted, "Louis, come here, now!"

"What do I do?" The boy stammered as he landed on his knees on the other side of the injured girl.

"Apply pressure to her wound while I go grab my first aid kit," She instructed. She lead his hands to the bleeding cut and swiftly shot up to the door. The immediate pressure of their hands caused Clementine to wince.

"Wait, Ruby!" Louis panicked, "What- what if she-"

"What if I what?" Clementine questioned, annoyed.

"Nothing! Forget I said anything." He anxiously bated.

...

  
". . .You know, I didn't think _this_ would be how our first interaction would go," Louis began, attempting to break the ice.  
"Cradling your head? Maybe. But not like this. _Not_ like this."

"How exactly would it go otherwise?" Clem asked, smirking as she laid on her back, staring at the rotted ceiling.

"Well, you'd fall for my dashing good looks, for starters." He joked, sharing her grin.

"In your dreams." She banted.  
With her words, she noticed the cracked ceiling tiles start to unfuzz above her, Clem turned her eyes to finally see the brown haze next to her somewhat clearly.  
He wore a beige, tattered, woolen-lined overcoat that served as a grim reminder of the girl's bare arms. Dark brown dreadlocks hung, complimenting his dark skin shining in the window's light. His broad nose crinkled as he gave an uneven, warm smile. Freckles speckled along his face, trailing from his cheeks to his forehead. Glazing, Clementine connected her amber eyes with his deep brown. His irises swirled like dark whiskey, radiating an odd warmth.   
Observing the teenage boy and his mannerisms, she became painfully aware of his hand cradling the nape of her neck for support as he pressed the other against her crown.

"Your pupils are evenly dilated. That's good," He stated, looking away quickly. "Ruby told me uneven pupils mean serious damage."

"And coherent sentences don't?" Clementine asked jokingly. 

"You'd be surprised what people are able to do before they, uh, _'go'_."

"Trust me," She sighed, lowering her voice to a whisper, "I know."

"...Sorry to hear that." He timidly muttered.

Clem sighed in response, before wincing from her throbbing head.

... 

". . .You're not pressing hard enough."

"I'm sorry?" He asked quizzically.

"My head," She said matter-of-factly, "You're not applying enough pressure. I can tell."

"How are you so calm? You're the one bleeding!" Louis exclaimed. She could feel him press his hand against her head slightly harder.

"I've done this before, giving and receiving." She said stoically, "And it's not like I'm bleeding out. It's just a cut."

"Well, at least _you_ know what you're doing." He gave a small relieving sigh that made Clementine regrettably chuckle.  
  
"Fuck." She muttered in pain as her rib cage twinged.

"Swear." AJ remarked. He sat next to them both and motioned CJ to follow.

Clementine rolled her eyes and smirked. Her heart warmed as she saw them sit together by her side. She looked around the room and spotted OJ watching cautiously as he held the leather bundle.

"How's DJ?" She asked with a warm smile.

"Could be better." He answered honestly, "He's been pretty sad since the crash. Missed you a lot."

"I'll hold him after the girl fixes me back up." She assured.

"Her name's Ruby." The boy smirked, "It fits her. Have you seen her hair?" He quipped, causing a grin out of the injured girl under him.

"And you must be Louis, right?"

"Yes Ma'am." He boasted, making the girl cringe.  
"What, you don't like 'Ma'am'?"

"No Sir." She responded jokingly, "My name is Clementine."

"Nice to meet you Clementine."

...

Everyone shared a collective silence in peace until the common room's door flung open.

"I came back 'fast I could." Ruby exclaimed as she hurriedly kneeled above the young woman.  
  
"I think the bleeding stopped for the most part." Louis breathed as he lifted his hands. 

"Great! Now, let's see how bad it is..." She muttered to herself as she parted Clementine's hair to view the gash. The hurt girl felt both relieved and uncomfortable with the sudden closeness. Louis gave a reassuring smile to the girl before rising back up. He raised his hands to his eyes and gave an appalled face, before wiping his palms on the back of his jacket. Clem rolled her eyes at the sight.

A few moments silence filled the room, until the red headed teenager gave a deep sigh of relief.  
"It's not bad at all," She announced, "No popped stitches. Just split the suture."

"Let me just redress it..."

  
"You know, I've been takin' care of you," Ruby started, wiping blood away with cotton balls, "Stitchin' and patchin' you up, I mean. Tenn's been helpin', checkin' on you every now and then."

"Well, thank you." Clem smiled.

"Don't mention it."  
"I'd say keep some pressure on it for a bit." She instructed as she finished re-bandaging her injury, "Just in case."

Ruby helped the girl on her feet and watched cautiously for any loss in balance. Clementine smiled in thanks to the girl, holding down the bandaged cut.

"We're real sorry, Clem," AJ meekly muttered, standing besides CJ with her head down.

The teenage girl stepped in front of them without a word and pulled them both in an engulfing embrace.  
"As long as you're okay," She sighed, smiling deeply, "I don't care how I am."

"Mama?" The little girl asked lightly as her mother gently let go. Clementine noticed Ruby lifting her head at the word, but shrugged it off.

"Yes, CJ?" She smiled.

"I missed you." She whimpered. Her face flushed and her eyes watered.

"I missed you too, Sweet Pea." She charmed, wiping her daughter's wet eye with the back of her hand.

"I don't wanna be rude," Omid Jr. Interrupted, "but DJ's starting to get upset again."

"That's fine." Clem assured, smiling. "Give me my jacket back, and I'll take care of him."

"Deal." He joked, unraveling the infant. DJ gave a grim sob as he felt no longer surrounded by the comfort of his caregiver's jacket.  
Clementine promptly swung the jacket around as she wrapped it around herself. The rich, sweet smell of the genuine leather greeted her nose in return.  
After closing the last button, Clem gave a smiling sigh and greeted the crying baby as she took him from OJ's arms.

" _Hola_ , Deej!" She welcomed her adoptive child. DJ's cries transformed into delighted squeals as he recognized her warm embrace. She smiled and cooed warmly at him as he reached for the swinging curls framing her face.

"They're all so happy now that you're here." Louis expressed. He sat on the piano bench and trailed his left hand lightly along the keys.  
"I've been watching them for you while you were out."

"I hope they haven't caused much trouble." She chimed.

"They were a _bit_ of a handful," He shrugged, "AJ especially."

"I'm sorry. He get's really worked up sometimes."

"It was noth-"  
" **Gah! You little motherfucker!** " Ruby exploded. Clementine turned to find the girl holding her hand tightly against herself, contorting her face in pain. Louis' music quickly vanished. AJ turned to her caregiver in distress, and ran towards her. He hugged Clem's legs tightly as he hid behind them, causing her to shuffle to regain balance.

Clementine immediately knew what must have happened, and her face reddened. She hurriedly handed the baby back to OJ.

The redhead stomped over to the substitute mother.  
"Your little boy just fuckin' BIT me!" She growled, shoving her indented hand in the girl's face. She brandished little teeth marks on the on the side of her hand. No blood, but slightly broken skin. Clem winced and furrowed her brows.

"Listen here," Clem warned, burning her amber eyes into Ruby's blue, "I'm sorry he did that, but don't you _fucking dare_ curse at him. If you so much as raise your voice at one of my children again, you'll regret it."

" _Excuse me?_ " Ruby scoffed, cheeks as red as her hair, "Your boy BITES me, and you reprimand _me_? Who the hell do you think you are? He's lucky I didn't take a boot to his head." 

"Calm down Ruby! A bite could be _much_ worse, all things considered." Louis braced. He held his hands up in defense as he scurried between the fiery girls in an attempt to peace the situation.

"If you so much as lay a finger on my kids, you'll have more than just a boot to the head!" Clementine spat angrily, gritting her teeth. She attempted to step closer but was halted by Louis.

"This is what I get for nursing you to health and tryin' to be nice to ya'll? Well screw you _and_ your kids!" The stout girl yelled crossly as she turned on her heel and stomped towards the door.

"Ruby, wait!" Louis implored vainly, watching as the inflamed girl stormed out and slam the door behind her. The soft cries of a startled infant slowly filled the room, replacing the once tranquil piano.

" _Ugh! No puedo creerla!_ " Clementine angrily exclaimed, kicking rocks around her in aggravation despite the pain in her chest.  
" _No le dices eso a un niño!_ " She angrily tousled her hair, careful not to hurt her head. _You don't say that to a child!_

"Clem!" OJ spoke up, bouncing a crying DJ, " _Cálmese_!" 

"Hold on," Louis interrupted, shocked. "You guys speak... What exactly?"

"Spanish." OJ corrected.

Clementine stopped and stood still for a moment, collecting herself. She huffed as she gently picked up the crying baby from OJ's arms.  
"I'm sorry." She sighed as she patted the infant's back, "I'm okay now."

"I'm sorry, Clem." AJ muttered, watching Clem bounce DJ, "I didn't mean to. She scared me."

"I know you didn't." She muttered, "We. . .," She sighed, ". . . We'll straighten things out when we both cool down."

The infant's soft sobs twisted into small giggles as he was bounced in Clementine's arms.

"Ruby can get... Emotional." Louis explained. He stepped towards the young girl and gave her a reassuring smile, "She means well, really. Though, I can't say I don't blame her for being angry."

"I don't either." She admitted as she returned DJ to Omid Jr.'s arms.  
"But you don't threaten a child. She frightened him."  
  
"Trust me, I know. The little dude did the same thing to me when I first met him."  
He waved off Clem's concerned gaze. "OJ explained to me about his 'thing'. It's no big deal, really."

"I'm sorry." She apologized on his behalf.

"Don't worry about it." He said as he waved dismissively, turning back to his piano, "Thankfully, I was here to calm him down with my alluring music."

His fingers fluttered along the piano's keys, chiming an addictive melody. Clementine smiled. 

"Oh yeah!" He piped up, not turning away from his keys, "Marlon left your bag in here, somewhere."

"Dont worry," She trailed, eyeing her backpack rested against a chair, "I've got it."  
Clementine walked to the ragged bag and lifted it with difficulty.  
' _Heavier than I remember._ ' She thought as a pang hit her chest.  
The girl set the bag down gently between her and her children and kneeled down to open it. She sighed with relief to find a tattered, blue baseball cap and gently fixed it atop her head.  
Resting on top of a buck skull, she found her survival knife and tucked it into her pocket.

"We already have ours." OJ professed, unsheathing his blade from his leg strap.

"Yeah," Clem muttered, "But you forgot something, Goofball."

"What?" AJ replied.

Silently, she smiled as she handed AJ a silver revolver. She noticed Louis turn in horror in the corner of her vision.

"Um..." The teenager agapely wondered, hitting a rocky note on his piano.

The little boy grasped at the firearm eagerly, unlatching the cylinder and giving a glum face at the few bullets in the chamber.

" _Double_ um..." He continued in alarm, "Does he... Know what that is?"

"It's dirty." AJ claimed in monotone.

"Clean it." Clementine replied, ignoring the panicked teenager.

"Maybe later." The 5 year old muttered, placing his toy in his pant's waistband. "Back you go."

"Where it belongs."

"Where's mine?" OJ asked.

"Still in the bag. Get it if you want it."

"Dude," Louis pleaded, "that _can't_ be a good idea."  
"Is it actually loaded?"

"Yes."

"Oh. Good!" He sarcastically announced.

Clementine stood back up in silence and gave her adoptive son a wink. The armed boy smiled in response.

"Just when you think you've seen it all..." Louis shrugged.  
He shook his head, turning back to his piano.  
"You guys do your thing I guess." He murmured as he repeated the same music from before.

"You don't know any others?" Clementine asked.

"Well, there is one..," He started, looking back at the large toddler, "But you're armed."

Given no response, the teenage boy shrugged as he returned to his piano.

Clementine furrowed her brows as he started performing a distantly familiar melody.

" _Oh, my darling. Oh, my darling..._ " Louis began to sing. His voice rang out smoothly- strong and clear like a toned bell.  
Clem happily rolled her eyes, immediately recognizing the lyrics.

" _Oh, my daaarling, Clementine..._ "

The sound of the girl's name in the singer's brass tenor riled a gasp in her all of her children. Clementine smiled warmly in their reactions.

" _You are lost and gone forever..._ "

" _Dreadful sorry, Clementine._ "

CJ delightedly laughed, standing on her toes to better view the ivory keys.

" _Light she was, and like a fairy..._ "

" _And her shooees were number nineee._ "

" _Herring boxes without topses..._ " 

" _Sandals were for Clementine._ " He finished clearly, winking at the other teenager and evoking a small smile.

"What do you think?" Clementine asked her children.

"It's loud." AJ muttered.

"It is."

"Loud is bad."

"Not always." Clem assured.

"It reminds me of when you sing, Mama." CJ looked up at her mother in awe, "Like when we're sick, or sad."

"You sing?" Louis commented.

"Only with my kids." She answered sternly.

"I get it." He smiled. 

The 4 year old girl stepped closer to the large instrument, observing the black and white tiles. AJ followed closely after.

"Come press this key!" Louis suggested, sliding back on the piano bench.

The two children looked to their caregiver meekly. Clementine looked for OJ's decision. He shook his head.

"Go ahead, you two. It's okay." She smiled warmly at them. AJ stepped forward and hesitated, before pressing a high, shrill note.

"Good! Now CJ, you press this one." He instructed kindly. The little girl breathed before tapping a slightly lower key.

"And this one." He pointed out. They both pressed the same key in turns.

"You two are naturals!" Louis encouraged, smiling.  
The two kids eagerly looked to Clementine. She returned their smiles warmly.

" **Hey!** " A familiar, masculine voice echoed through the doorway. Clementine turned to find Marlon running into the room, brandishing a worried face.

"Have you seen Rosie?" He asked. He seemed out of breath.

"Nope." Louis responded, turning away from the piano.

"Shit," Marlon took a deep breath.  
"We've got a bit of a situation out there..." He huffed, "Um, I hate to ask, 'you just coming to an' all, but if you want, we could really use a hand."

"You up for takin' out a few deadheads?"

She gave a solemn nod in return, making her head slightly twinge in pain.

"I'm not sure that's a good idea." OJ warned, "You're pretty hurt, Clem."

"Don't worry about me, I'm fine." She assured.

"I don't mean for you to overexert yourself." Marlon said, "Especially with the shape you're in-"

"I said I'm fine." She sternly insisted.

"If you say so," He shrugged, swiveling on his heel.  
"You too, Louis. Get your ass in gear!" He yelled over his shoulder as he ran to the courtyard.

"Fine." Louis dramatically sighed. He shrugged to Clem and trotted towards the exit.  
Clementine followed the teenage boy, but was stopped by a pull on her sleeves as she walked to the doorway. She turned around to find her daughter holding something behind her back.

"Yes, Sweat Pea?"

"I found these earlier, Mama." CJ beamed, lifting a small bouquet of plastic yellow daffodils to her mother.  
"Do you like them?"

"I love them." Clementine affirmed, admiring the small bundle of artificial flowers, "Thank you so much, Sweet Pea."

"Even if they're fake?"

Smiling, Clementine walked through the doorway holding a bundle of beautiful plastic, and her daughter's hand in the other.

"That just means they'll last forever."


	5. The Strain

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, thanks to DragonKiller9 for helping me and providing feedback to my rough drafts. He's been a great help.
> 
> I've gotten comments assuming of my inexperience regarding dealing with trauma.  
> Let me say this now, and I wish I didn't have to:  
> Speaking as a person with unfortunate experience, I know what I'm writing about regarding trauma and abuse.  
> Not csa as specific, but I know what I'm doing.  
> I hope I've made this clear. I am not trying to call anyone out or to be rude at all, I just want to let this be known.  
> I know what I'm writing about. Don't assume.

"Rosie!" Marlon called, pacing around the entrance gate of the school's courtyard, more frustrated with every step.  
"Where the hell is she?" He huffed.

"Who's Rosie?" CJ asked, tugging on her mother's hand as they followed Louis to the gate.  
"I don't know Sweet Pea." Clem shrugged, holding her side with her free hand.

Marlon turned to the small group as they stopped in front him. Clementine noticed the young man brandishing his large bow and arrow. Easily half of her size.  
"You give her her weapon back?" He questioned Louis.  
Knocked into conversation, Clem reached into her back pocket and flaunted her silver survival knife.

"Good." He recited, looking the teenage girl in the eye. "We're gonna need you to put it to use."  
"We got a hunting party out there trynna get back inside." He started, gesturing towards the beyond of the giant, rusted iron bar gate. A familiar blonde figure leaned onto the iron bars. Clementine recognized her as the girl once resting atop the large brick wall. Glancing at the girl's sleeveless denim jacket, Clem noticed an assortment of pins and buttons bestrewed around the front.

"They need our help to clear the way. Been a few more than usual these last couple days..." Marlon trailed off, scratching the back of his head.

"It's almost like something drew their attention." The blonde girl snidely remarked, turning her head. She crossed her arms in perceivable frustration, turning to the crowd.  
"Something like, I don't know... An explosion. Or a car crash." She scoffed.

"Vi..." Marlon warned.

"Do you have a problem or something?" Clem remarked with venom. She stepped closer until she felt her daughter squeezing her hand.

"No, just speculating..." The blonde muttered calmly, shrugging to the gate.

Clementine glared at the girl with flaming eyes. Her head throbbed in quick anger.

"Ahem," Louis cleared his throat, reading the room, " _Hello, Clementine. I'm Violet,_ " He mimicked, gesturing between them, " _Nice to meet you._ "

The girl turned her head, revealing crystal blue eyes.  
"What he said." She groused.

"Alright, boys and.. Girls!" Willy called in the guard post above them, hanging onto the railing."They're starting to fill in!" He yelled, pointing through the trees.

"Lets go." Violet apathetically instructed to the group, opening the gate with a creak and trotting outside.

Marlon gripped his bow tighter, reaching for an arrow in the quiver strapped to his back.  
"Be careful out there." He chimed, looking Clem up and down, "Don't injure yourself again."  
As the girl roll her eyes, he turned on his heel and ran out of the yard.

"Don't mind Violet." Louis assured, crossing her path, "She uh... Grows on you. I promise." He gave a warm smile.  
Clementine flinched as the boy plunked a large leg of wood on his shoulder, decorated with nails on the base.  
"Oh, this?" He smirked, noticing the girl's puzzled look. "It's a chair leg. I call it, 'Chairles'."  
He gave the girl a small wink, flaunting the brash weapon, and turned to join the brigade. Clementine rolled her eyes even further, causing a sharp jolt. He started reminding her of another comedian she once knew.

With a sigh, the young mother kneeled down to match her children's heights. She already knew the incoming interrogation.

"Can I help?" AJ asked.

"Not right now, Goofball." Clem recited, "I need you to watch my back on this one."

"Can I come with, Mama?" CJ begged with large, doe eyes, "Please? I won't get in the way."

"I'm sorry, Sweet Pea. I need you to stay here with AJ."

"Okay." The little girl muttered meekly, shifting her weight around her feet. Smiling, Clementine kissed her daughter's forehead to cheer her up. She gave a snortful giggle at her mother's touch.

"What about me?" OJ piped. He held DJ on his hip, giving a snide smirk. The girl stared crossly, and closed her eyes to collect her thoughts before nodding.

"Fuck it. Why not?" She answered, raising her hand in gesture. "You're old enough to do it on your own and you need to practice."

"Swear." AJ muttered indignantly, crossing his arms in frustration.

"AJ, I need you to watch DJ and CJ for a few minutes. Can you do that for me?"

"I guess so." He murmured.

"I know you're upset, and I'm sorry," Clementine started, sighing.  
"I just can't watch all of you right now. You'll get your turn soon. I promise."

Their eyes shared a moments contact before the little boy gave a solemn nod. He took the infant out of OJ's grasp with a grunt. DJ smiled with delight at being at AJ's side, and shoved his little hands into his brother's afro, despite the 5 year old's protest. CJ giggled at her adoptive baby brother.

"Thank you." Clem affirmed, smiling at the baby's shameless attitude. She carefully pulled his chubby arms out of the boy's hair and gave his hands a soft squeeze. DJ happily squealed in response.  
Beaming, CJ gave her mother a peck on the cheek and a smothering hug before she was allowed to stand back up. The young mother returned her affection in pain and lifted herself back on her feet. With a sigh, she escorted the 7 year old boy outside of the gate and closed it behind her. A tiny hand poked itself out between the bars, making Clementine's heart flutter.

"See you on the other side," She chimed to the three other children, giving a warm smile before hobbling deeper into the wooded area. Her uneven steps crunched against the dead leaves littering the forest floor. The tall vegetation easily towered over any building, branching out in tendrils under the gloomy, cloudy sky.  
Omid Jr. walked next to her, staring nervously at her slight limp and cradled side.

"I'm fine." Clementine huffed before he could protest. She stared straight ahead, ignoring his worried gaze. She lifted her knife and noticed OJ do the same, the sounds of hungry groans catching her ears.  
Cautious, Clementine shifted her eyes through the distance around her. She observed as Violet swung a cleaver into a walker's dome, and kicked it down to unwedge her weapon. Far in front of her, Louis batted a raging walker with his chair leg, like a familiar baseball player.  
Hearing a nearby screech, Clem looked to her right to find a lurker shambling towards her. She raised her blade in preparation before an arrow pierced through its rotted skull. Marlon revealed himself as the corpse limply fell to the ground. He gave Clem an acknowledging nod before grabbing another arrow and running into cover behind a bush.

"Clem! Monster!" AJ yelled out from behind a distant gate. Clementine turned to her left to see a walker heavily shuffling its way to it's next meal. The little boy braced himself and clenched his knife.

"What do you do?" Clementine asked, loud enough to hear. She held her blade tightly, preparing to get involved if needed.

"Go for the knee!" Omid Jr. repeated what he was always taught. The young boy ran to the lurking carcass and kicked its knee, making it fold in like a lawn chair. The walker tumbled down with a crack and hit OJ, taking the boy with it. The 7 year old pushed the shrieking walker above him away with all his might until Its body went limp, a blade through its skull.  
"Are you okay?" Clementine rushed with worry, pulling her knife out of the corpse's rotten head. She reached a hand out for the young boy and lifted him on his feet, despite the twinging pain in her chest.

"Yeah." OJ panted, brushing himself off, "No bites."

Clem sighed with relief, smiling at the boy and brushing the dirt off of his back.  
"Lets try that again." She instructed, pointing out a skinnier walker.   
"This time kick from the side, so they don't collapse on you."

Without a word, Omid Jr. nodded and ran for the lean walker. He kicked from the side like he was directed, and the lurker came down just as Clementine hoped. The boy lifted his knife and stabbed the enraged monster, stopping his mangled screeching. With an excited grin, OJ ran to his adoptive mother and greeted her with a high five.

"Great job, OJ! Keep doing just that!" Clem encouraged, eyeing two more walkers trailing their way. "There's more we need to take care of."

"Yes Ma'am!" He yelled, running off to kill his before she could scold him. Clem watched as the boy kicked the monster down. The next walker groaned as it came directly for the teenage girl, ignoring the little boy stabbing the other in the head. Clementine noticed it's size: barely taller than she was and even skinnier, and decided it wasn't worth the hassle to kick down.  
Running to the estranged walker, her face contorted as her chest throbbed, ramming her blade up the corpse's jaw with force. As the monster dropped, she allowed herself a moment to collect her breath, holding her side.

"Woah!" She could hear Louis's voice above the slight ringing in her ears, "Nice one, Clementine!"  
The girl turned to him with crinkled brows, unsure if his tone was sarcasm or genuine impression.  
"Could use a little more _finesse_ , though," He critiqued, turning to a distracted walker, "Watch and learn!"   
"Hey Ugly! Over here! " He called, drawing the monster's attention. The walker bounded for him, kicking around dirt on a strategically placed circle laid out with pebbles. Louis turned to a rope around a tree, and cut it in one swoop. A giant rock fell down on top of the groaning lurker, flinging debris and shaking the earth around it. Clementine glared with peculiarity. ' _How in the hell did they lift a boulder?_ ' She wondered.

"And **_that's_ **how you school a walker!" He finished enthusiastically, pointing at the girl. More confused than ever, Clementine looked around and noticed several different boulders suspended by a rope, each designated with a red ribbon tied around the trunk of the tree.

"They'res a whole bunch of traps laying around the area for these asshats." He started, pointing out a few, "They're all marked, so keep a lookout."

"You realize that those could seriously hurt someone if it backfires?" She asked with worry. She can't imagine planting traps like that with children around.  
The teenage boy shrugged in response, and began to run after another walker a ways away. Clementine turned to OJ, who practically glowed.

"Can we do one?" He gleamed, staring hopefully into his adoptive mother's eyes.  
The girl stood, collecting her thoughts. She didn't want to ruin the fun, but it was simply too dangerous for him. Turning, she noticed a lurker walking in their direction, almost directly under one of the traps.  
"Fine, but we do it my way," She began to explain, hobbling to the nearby ribboned tree, "I'll cut the rope, you stand back."  
Smiling, Omid Jr. nodded and excitedly watched as she sliced the rope. The hanging boulder came down with a crash onto the unaware walker, shaking Clementine where she stood. 

"Woah," The girl beamed, staring at the splattered remains of the lurker in awe. "That was kinda fun."

"Told ya!" Louis yelled boastfully as he batted another walker, "That's the spirit!"  
Clem smirked at his gloat, feeling something rise in her bruised cheeks.

"Can I try?" OJ bounced to the girl.

"Another time." She answered, making the boy frown, "Don't give me that look. I need you to focus."

"See, _this_ is why I call you Ma'am," OJ brassily banted, running at a walker and kicking it down before stabbing it.

" ** _Omid Junior!_** " Clementine growled. The 7 year old boy simply snickered at Clementine's aggravation.   
"I'm _so_ gonna kick your butt after this," She muttered, eyeing another monster walking away. The girl unsteadily rushed to it and kicked it from behind, pain crashing into her at the sudden movements. Ignoring the sudden jolting soreness, Clem raised her knife and rammed it into the walker's skull. 

" _If_ you can, you mean." He remarked in good fun, "You can barely walk as it is right now."

"I'm fine." Clementine repeated shakily, doubling over to catch her breath.

"...Are you sure?" OJ asked, sounding more concerned, "You don't have to lie to make me feel better."

"I'm sure," She huffed, trying to focus on regaining her head, "Just focus."

"If you say so," The boy breathed anxiously.  
"Focus." He repeated to himself, nodding. He redrew his knife and ran to another walker. 

Drawing a final breath, Clementine lifted herself back up and gripped her blade. As her head unblurred, she saw Marlon run to faint lights in the distance, OJ running to his side soon after.

"Looks like they made it back in one piece," Marlon yelled out to the group behind him. He turned around, meeting Clem's eye.  
"C'mon, let's meet him halfway!" He called as he ran towards the hunting group, OJ following.  
Clementine quickly trailed, ignoring the pestering pang in her chest and the soreness strung across her body. She stopped under a small bunch of trees, and looked around as she caught her breath. One tree exhibited a large 'X' painted in red. Curious, the girl whistled to a walker nearby, making it bound at the tight tone. Once the walker shuffled between the two trees, Clem sliced through the rope across from the target. Instead of a boulder crashing into the ground, a ginormous tree trunk swung from the other side of the tree, and pounded into the other tree's target, catching the walker and slamming him into a wooden sandwich. Screeching, the monster reached for the awestruck teenage girl despite it's immobility.

"Woah." OJ muttered, walking up to his adoptive mother, "That's so cool. Where did that even come from?"

"It was hidden in the leaves of the tree." Clem muttered, looking unsettled.  
"Lets not play with the traps anymore." She sighed, "...At least until we learn the land. That could've hurt someone."

With a nod, OJ turned around and ran to hunt down another walker. Sighing, Clementine unsteadily walked around the area until she spotted a lurker hiding in plain sight, behind a thick tree, unaware of it's surroundings. Drawing her knife, the girl snuck behind the walker and kicked it in the back of the knee, causing it to buckle under it's own weight.  
Toppling over, the shrieking corpse fell over the injured girl, knocking her into the tree. 

"Fuck!" She exclaimed in a shot of pain as the back of her head hit the rough bark. Her ears rang with vigor. Everything she viewed turned into a blurry mess. Her head throbbed as she fumbled around the dead leaves to find her knife. Something sounded above the dull ringing. Something... Yelling?

" _Clem!_ " She heard the fuzzy voice yell, and looked up to see a grey blotch running towards her, stabbing another moving blob on the ground.

' _OJ._ ' She thought.

" _Don't worry Clem._ " She heard him say, feeling something take her hand and leading her upright, " _It's gonna be okay._ "  
As she stood, a sudden warmth crept up her spine and into her head.  
"Am I bleeding?" She asked, her voice burred behind the fuzz in her mind.

" _No, no. You're okay._ " He said, his voice slightly clearer, " _You only fell._ "

Clementine closed her eyes in annoyance. How could she be so reckless? 

"I'm sorry." She spoke out, regaining her vision once her eyes fluttered back open. She attempted to step forward but nearly tripped over herself, every muscle feeling like gelatin.

"It's okay, just take it easy." He voiced warmly, gazing at her with worry. "You're pretty disoriented."

"I think I'm okay." She lied, more to herself than OJ, "Where's my knife?"

"Right here." He said, taking her silver blade out of his hoodie pocket. Clementine took it with earnest, fumbling to rest her back against the tree for stability as she stood. A sudden shuffle of leaves alerted OJ, pointing his knife in it's direction. A walker charged out, before being put down quickly by an arrow straight through it's skull.

"Is everything okay?" Marlon ran out of the vegetation, pointing his unloaded bow to the ground, "What happened?"

"I'm fine." Clem sternly insisted, "I just tripped."

"Sounded like more than just that." He inquired, looking her with concern.

"I said I'm fine." She growled in frustration, both at herself and Marlon.

The teenage boy glared intently at the girl leaning on the tree. He blew a harsh breath as he realized this wasn't a battle he could win.  
"Whatever you say," He huffed, turning around and waving them over, ripping the arrow right out of the corpse's head. "We still need to catch up to them, let's go!" 

With a nod, Clementine followed as fast as her sore body could allow, breathing harsher at every twist. Running over a short bridge, Marlon quickly stopped and turned around.  
"Yo! Over here!" He called to the rest of the party. Violet and Louis ran to shortly after, weapons in tow. Together, everyone rushed to the lights coming closer, now evidently torches.

The two groups crossed paths, each stopping to collect their breaths. Leaning on her knees, Clementine suddenly felt lightheaded. Refusing to show weakness, she looked up to observe the rest of the party. 

"Nice timing." Violet told the hunting group, still in a protective stance. "We're not gonna be able to hold them off much longer."

"No kidding. Where'd all these walker's come from?" A pale, thin girl asked, shrugging perturbedly. Her whisked-back auburn hair blew in the wind, brushing against a dead rabbit resting on her shoulder. Who knew a rabbit carcass would make Clem's mouth water so much?

" _That_ would've been us." OJ joked meekly, "Sorry about that."

"Woah." A kid began, staring jarringly at the drained teenage girl in front of him. "She's-"

"Awake? Yeah, we know, Aasim." Violet snarked. Clem furrowed her brows in annoyance at her attitude.

Aasim looked at the kneeling-over girl in concern, "She doesn't look so-"

"We can talk when we get back inside the gates," Marlon intentionally interrupted, scolding.  
He clutched his bow as he turned on his heel. "Keep an eye out for stragglers."

As the rest of the group quickly followed the leader, Clementine silently volunteered to trail behind, knife by her side. She unsteadily breathed, trying to keep her head straight. Eyeing the distance, Violet suddenly appeared to her left, seemingly with the same idea. Turning, their eyes met with an unspoken greeting, and disconnected to look behind each other's blind spots.

"You know, you're not half bad. Considering the circumstances and all..." The girl mentioned with a shrug, slipping a slight glimpse of hospitality in her ice blue eyes.

"Thanks." Clem returned as she gave a slim smile.

Violet quickly looked away, "Let's uh... Let's finish these guys off." She stammered, "We don't need them attracting more walkers to the school."  
She ran off to hatchet a nearby walker, suddenly ignoring her again.  
Clementine shook her head, giving a slight twinge. She wondered why that girl was so hard to figure out.  
Looking around her, she found a lurker aggressively crawling her way- an arrow straight through it's spine. The girl gripped her knife tightly as she walked towards the monster, bending down and stabbing it in the skull. Her head spun at the movement- She cursed at herself for not going down carefully enough.

"Piece of shit." She heard a voice angrily mutter, and looked up to find the teenager with tan skin shooting a collapsed walker with a bow.  
' _Aasim_ ' She remembered.  
Wiping his brow, Aasim leaned down to collect the used arrows, seemingly unaware of his surroundings. Clem mentally cringed at his obliviousness, and slowly stepped closer in attempt to cover him.  
"I hate this cleanup bullshit." He complained to himself. Sure enough, a walker brokenly dashed towards the distracted boy and attacked him from behind, making him turn on his heel and fall.  
Ignoring the faintness in her head and tightness in her chest, Clementine sprinted to assist and threw her knife into the lurker. Unintentionally slashing through it's jaw, the tip of her blade fell inches away from skewering the boy under it. More furious than ever, the walker shrieked and struck the girl, nearly knocking the blade out of her hands. Regaining her footing, the girl pushed against the monster as much as her dizzy body could muster, barely managing to stab through it's head. The sudden movement gave her a rush of blood up her body, making her head spin as she attempted to collect herself. As the corpse came down, Clementine allowed herself a moment to lean against the tree, trying to ease her breathing and whirling mind.

"That walker came out of nowhere." He embarrassedly muttered as he scratched his head. Closing her eyes, Clem ignored his exclamation, focused on her breathing as she slowly rose back upright.

"Woah, are you okay?" The teenage boy asked worriedly as he stepped closer, outstretching his arms. "...You don't look too good."

" _I, I'm... f-fine..._ ," She managed, cradling the side of her head as she shuffled on her feet. Purple and black specs fluttered in the corners of her vision like butterflies. No matter how hard she tried to breathe, she didn't seem to attain enough oxygen.  
Blood pounded in her ears, muffling words from the teenager around her.

" _I said... I'm fine..._ " Clementine murmured anyways, despite not understanding. She slowly lifted a heavy boot, stepping towards the boy who looked extremely concerned.

"Let me help you." she managed to hear him say. Silently agreeing, Clem decided to meet him halfway and took another step. She suddenly felt her body jerk forward as she tripped over a tree stump, landing into his arms.

"Oh, fuck." He cursed as he was brought down to his knees.  
"Marlon!" He yelled out, "We have an issue!"

A moment passed before the tall teen stumbled out of the bushes, urging, "What the hell happened?"

"I don't know." Aasim exclaimed, "She just collapsed!"

" _Shit._ " The boy responded, "I knew she was too hurt to do this. I shouldn't've let her-"

"I'm _fine._ " Clementine managed to croak, attempting to lift herself out of Aasim's arms.

"No, you're not." Marlon asserted, leaning down and cradling her shoulder. "We're gonna get you out of here."

"Holy shit." Louis trailed, OJ quickly following, "What happened?"  
"Clem!" OJ yelped, running up to the drained girl. She returned his grief with a small, assuring smile.

"She ran out of steam." Marlon bated, wrapping her arm around his shoulder and lifting her from his grasp. Aasim rose to his feet at his freedom and dusted himself off.

"I can help her walk back." Louis chimed with a flame, going around the girl's other side.

"I can walk on my own." She insisted in annoyance, feeling weak from their comments alone. She lightly pushed herself away from everyone and hobbled away, finding her knife on the forest floor and slowly picking it back up.

"Let me help you at least." OJ requested, wrapping a slender arm around her waist. Clementine begrudgingly accepted his offer, as if she had a choice.

As the small group followed through the thin trail, Clementine felt eyes all around her. She stepped heavy-footedly on dead leaves, listening to them crackle under her.

"You don't have to stare at me," She started, not looking away from the trail. "I'm feeling better, really."

***

As the group reached the end of the trail, Clementine looked up to find Violet having a conversation with the two other hunters, leaning on a deserted car.

"There you guys are!" The auburn haired girl sighed with relief as she turned around, "We were getting worried."

"More like _y_ _ou_ were, Brody." Violet corrected. The teenage boy next to them snickered.

"What happened?" Brody asked, stepping towards Marlon.

"She just had an empty tank." He explained, gesturing towards Clementine holding hands with OJ, "Had a little spill. Everything's fine now."

"You might want to check in with Ruby, then." Brody suggested to the girl, a disturbed look on her face.

"Oh yeah," Louis banted with a laugh, "that'll be a sight to see! They nearly scrapped when they met- I had to get between them." 

"You're joking." Violet gaped, seemingly almost impressed.

"Holy shit." Aasim noted.

"Well, regardless," Marlon inquired, turning to face Clementine. "you need to get checked out. So I suggest patching things up."

"I was already going to." Clem stated, stepping towards the teens.

"Great. Now that the fun's over-" Marlon swung around, stepping towards the school. "Let's get inside. I'm fucking starving."

"You're not the only one..." Clem lightly muttered, feeling her stomach cave in at the words.

***

"So, how'd hunting go?" Marlon asked, turning to Aasim as they trailed to the school.

"How do you think it went?" He snidely remarked.

"Be nice, Aasim." Brody warned.

"...The safe zone's nearly dry." Aasim began, ignoring the girl. "I could barely find enough for tonight." He gestured, gripping his bow tightly.  
"We're gonna have to scout out further if we want food for the winter."

Clementine's ears perked at his sentence. Having problems with food is never good.

"...We'll talk about it later." Marlon grunted.

"Bullshit." Aasim cursed, running in front of him, "We should talk about this right now-"

"I said, later, damn it." Marlon sneered angrily, crashing into Aasim's shoulder as he walked off.

Clem furrowed her brows. Maybe this place wasn't as secure as she thought. 

"Still standing, I see." Louis noticed, knocking her out of her thoughts.

"Barely." She quipped, holding her side.

"A girl that can laugh at herself." He smirked, "My kind of lady."  
Clementine rolled her eyes at the boy and snickered, refusing to respond. Turning, she noticed Violet on the other side of him, giving a sour expression.

"I'd call that a B plus performance there, Vi," Louis banted at the girl, "You've done better."

"Fuck off." She retorted, flipping him off. Clem smiled at the humorous exchange.

"B minus, then." He deadpanned.  
"Now, Clem here?" He started, "That was a solid A. A plus, even!"

"You're joking, right?" Clementine scrunched her nose in confusion, "I completely fucked everything."

"I'm taking your injuries into account. I'm surprised you managed to kill _any_ with the shape you're in."

"First rule of knowing Clem," OJ popped in, walking by her other side, " _never_ underestimate her."

Turning towards each other, Louis's and Clem's eyes met. The boy gave a soft wink, making her quickly look away. Clem suddenly felt a soft warmth rising in her bruised cheeks.

"Noted." He grinned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote half of this without ANY sleep. I literally feel like Clementine right now. Just exhausted. I'm going to bed now lol


	6. The First Night(NOT FINISHED)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think we're finally getting to the good stuff! Again, thanks to DragonKiller for reading my roughs and sketches.
> 
> Also, another slight change. Instead of a bunch of single picnic tables, there's like, two rows of conjoined tables. Everyone sits at one table- Think of it like the ending scene where everyone's together.  
> P.S. I recently realized that Clem's leather jacket is button up, so I've changed a part of last chapter accordingly. (I've also heard it might just be black denim, not leather. But let's ignore that.)
> 
> P.P.S. I also found out that Violet's eyes are green, not blue. But I kinda like the thought of her with blue eyes? So that stays. Let's call it an AU. (As if it already wasn't)

* * *

_"'Que viene el coco'?" Clementine stemmed in confusion, reading aloud off a piece of stained paper, "Why would a kid be scared of a coconut?"_

_"Not coconut, Clem." The man next to her explained with a laugh, pointing at the lined verse on the page, "Coco is the name of the monster. Think of it like the Bogeyman."_

_"Oh, I think I get it..." She muttered, thinking. She read the lyrics in her head and hummed along in a vaguely familiar tune._  
_Her face crossed in confusion as she realized something._  
_"Wait," She said, turning to him, "Javi...his is basically Rock-a-Bye Baby with a monster. How exactly did you learn this?"_

_"Mi mamá used to sing it to David and I when we were little." Javier answered, smirking, "Seems fitting for the undead apocalypse, don't it?"_

_Clem scoffed, planting her elbow on the table in front of her._  
_"Yeah, I guess it does... But why am I learning this?"_

_He answered, looking at her with reverence, "Because, Clementine, you have the best damn set of pipes out of anyone here in Richmond. I want my son to actually enjoy being sung to."_

_The teenage girl grumbled in discomfort, folding her arms and looking away. Javier chuckled at her flustered response._

_"Honestly, Javi, will you stop embarrassing the girl?" Kate laughed as she walked up to the pair with 2 toddlers by her side. She held her protruding belly with one hand, another intertwined with the 3 year old girl's. Clem's face lit up at the sight of her kids, but quickly dimmed to find one missing._

_"Don't worry, Clem," Kate assured, reading her mind. "Gabe took OJ to the bathroom."_  
_The toddlers smiled at the sight of their mother, and ran up to greet her. Clementine welcomed the affection with a big hug from each tot, smiling as she placed AJ into the empty chair next to her, and allowed CJ to sit on her lap._

 _"I guess Spanish lesson's over, then." Javi quipped. He shot up to help Kate hobble to the table._  
_Refusing her partner's attempt at assisting, the pregnant woman slowly sat down across the small folding table on her own._

_"I'm fine, Javi. Stop hovering." She pested, smirking as she saw his disappointed face, "...So, what makes you think it's a boy?"_

_"I just have that feeling." He shrugged, sounding slightly proud of himself._

_"Willing to bet on that feeling?" Clem banted, drawing a chuckle from the father._

_"I hope it's a girl." Kate smiled, rubbing her belly in joy. "What do you hope it'll be, Clem?"_

_"Well, if experience serves anything..." The girl trailed, holding her chin in mock thought. She squished CJ's cheeks with her other hand. The 3 year old giggled in response._  
_"Having a girl caan be a lot to handle. But worth it."_  
  
_"Well I trust your guidance, then." Kate chuckled, and began to wince at the shake of her shoulders._  
_"God, my back's been killing me lately. How'd you ever deal with this?"_

_"I wish you'd be more careful, Hun." Javier insisted, "You have another little dude to look out for now."_

_"Honestly? So far, Kate's pregnancy has been a breeze compared to what I went through." Clementine stated with a smirk, "Consider yourselves lucky."_

_"Well, you're right about that," Javier agreed meekly, "I guess we should count our blessings."_

_"...I'm so happy we have you, Clem," Kate smiled warmly, placing a soothing hand on the girl's atop the table. "I don't know if I could do it without someone that knows what they're doing."_

_Javi nodded, lifting his hand in gesture at the teenager, "Plus having someone with actual talent to sing to him? That rocks too."_

_Clementine blushed and smiled sadly, looking at her little girl._

_"I'm happy to help."_

* * *

"They're pretty good." Omid Jr. said, leading Clementine by her side as she slightly limped. Clem looked up- the school was a small ways away.

"Maybe." She thought out loud, "We don't know how they are under pressure."

"That's true..." He muttered, lightly frowning, "I just hope we can pull our own weight. Maybe they'll let us stay."

"Woah, kiddo." She voiced, stopping in her tracks to bend down next the boy. "Who said anything about staying?"

The words gave the 7 year old boy a start. A frightened look jumped on his face.  
"You can't be serious," He professed, letting go and turning to her front, "We've barely had any food since Richmond- I haven't seen you eat in over a week, and we don't even have the car anymore!"

"Okay OJ, I get your point!" Clem exclaimed. She quickly noticed the other school children turn their heads as they walked past.  
"Keep your voice down." She whispered, " _Este lugar puede ser peligroso_. We don't know anything yet." _This place could be dangerous.  
_"Either way, DJ's about to run out of food. His needs take priority, so I'll scavenge around soon."

"I'm sorry." The boy sighed, "I know you're right. I'm just tired of moving."

"Me too, kiddo."  
Clementine gave a light squeeze on his shoulder- a silent show of affection as she stood back up and regained her footing. She watched as Marlon ran ahead, opening the school's iron gate and motioned everyone inside. Clem sighed as she started walking again, gently refusing OJ's help. looking back up, Marlon gave her a knowing smirk, unaware why to Clem until a familiar figure trotted to her side.

"So!" Louis popped, "What are you doing when you're not recovering from a car crash?"

"Is that a joke?" She questioned, "Trying not to starve or get eaten alive."

"Isn't that the norm these says?" 

"Try doing it while raising four kids." She banted, sharing a grin with OJ.

"Good point."

"Would you stop pestering her?" Violet urged, keeping in step next to Louis.

"I'm not bothered by it." Clem stated, much to Vi's dismay, "At least not yet."

"Give it like, an hour."

"I think he's pretty funny." OJ piped in. Louis perked happily at his statement.

"Wow, I can't believe you've found someone that likes your jokes, Lou." Violet snarked.

"I know right? It's great!" He chirped, grinning madly. Clem observed his dimples as he crinkled his nose in his smile. 

The kids shared a moment's peace until Violet groaned, wiping red off her cheek.  
  
"I have walker guts all over me." She roughly complained, "God, I need to wash in the creek."  
Louis chuckled as Vi rolled her eyes, wiping the rest of her face, just in case. Clementine looked at her children as they crossed the iron gateway, caught up in playing with Tenn at a picnic table. She smiled as OJ ran to meet his siblings.

"That honestly sounds great." Clem added as she turned back to the girl, "I haven't felt clean in months. Would you mind if I joined?"

"Oh... Uhh, sure." The girl stuttered, refusing to meet Clem's gaze, "I'll plan something out with the girls for tomorrow. Marlon only lets us go in groups."

"How rude of you to make plans and not invite me." Louis jested, placing a hand over his heart in mock pain.

" _You're a dude_ , dude." Violet interjected, "Even if you were allowed to go- _Which you definitely aren't_ \- you have hunting duty with Aasim tomorrow."

"That's a lie, I remember one time-"

"-That happened _once_ , and that's the entire reason why there's a rule now, Louis."

"Well, I'm sure Clem wouldn't mind." He cluelessly deadpanned with a snide shrug. Violet unsubtly gagged at his flirt.

"Oh, I- Uh..." Clem stammered. She became painfully aware of the warmth in her face.  
Taken aback by his brass, Clem felt a jolt as she tripped over her own feet with a yelp, landing on her hands and knees. She cringed as her head started to spin again, lifting a scraped palm to her temple. She heard the worried voices of her children calling her name as they ran up to her.  
"What happened?" OJ asked with concern as he held DJ, fallen on deaf ears.

"Nice one, Louis." Violet sarcastically growled in annoyance, "Are you okay, Clem?"

"God, I'm sorry." Louis halted. He bent down to Clem's level and touched her shoulder gently, "Do you..need a hand?"

"I can get up myself," Clementine huffed harshly, clenching her teeth. Her chest throbbed at every breath. "Just give me a minute."

"Are you sure?"

"Louis, if she doesn't want help-" Violet urged.

"I'm just offering, Vi-"

"Let me help you." Omid Jr. interrupted, absentmindedly handing the baby to Violet. The teenage girl begrudgingly took the infant in disgust, holding him outwards. DJ happily gaggled in spite of the girl's irritation. Louis snickered at her unfortunate predicament, rising up.

"No, I'm fine." The girl refused, "Just give me-"

"Clem, I'm not asking." OJ demanded heartily, stepping closer to the girl and holding out a hand, "Give me your hand."  
With a hesitant sigh, Clementine grabbed the boy's wrist and was pulled upright to the best of OJ's ability. She leaned on her knees, calming the stitch in her chest and collecting her breath.

"What happened this time?" Marlon bellowed, trotting up to the small group. Lifting her light head in annoyance, she found many faces turned her way and quickly flushed.  
"Great." She cursed under her breath. " _Fucking_ great."

"Swear." AJ mumbled. CJ giggled.

"Louis pulled a Louis and tripped her." Violet explained with a taunt, pulling one hand out from under DJ to gesture.

"He didn't trip me," Clem defended him. Louis seemed to give a relieving sigh, as if he believed it himself.  
Shuffling on her feet, Clem muttered weakly, "I got distracted and-"

"You should sit down." Marlon cautioned, noticing her attempts at balancing. If she didn't know any better, she'd have thought Marlon gave a small smirk. Clem felt annoyed by the interrupting, but slightly relieved that she didn't have to explain herself. He gestured to a maroon loveseat, a matching couch next to it occupied by Willy, and the unnamed member of the hunting party.

"I don't know..." Clem halted. Sitting on a cushion sounded inviting, though she'd rather do something productive. "Can't I help with something?"

"You helped plenty by knocking down some deadheads and saving Aasim's ass." Marlon smiled smugly, drawing an aggravated "Hey!" from Aasim.  
"Just relax for now. You earned it." He said, walking away towards the school building.   
Clementine hesitated. Relaxing was a remote concept. Any time she had, someone ended up dying or hurt. She didn't want to be unprepared for anything.

"Hey," OJ read her mind, softly pulling on her sleeve. "Don't worry. Nothing's gonna happen."  
CJ ran in front of her mother with a gleeful grin, hugging her legs.  
"Lets go, Mama!" She chirped, reaching for her hand to pull her to the tattered loveseat. Clementine noticed a sudden shift in her peripherals- Violet tensed at the little girl's squeak and audibly mouthed the word 'Mama?' at Louis. He gave her a dry look in response, before cooing distractedly at DJ.  
Blowing a harsh breath in annoyance, Clementine frailly followed her daughter. Walking, she heard footsteps behind her, and looked back find Louis trailing, crossing his arms.

"You know it's not your fault, right?" Clem assured, "I tripped. You don't have to follow me."

"It kinda _was_ my fault, though," Louis responded. He lifted a hand to cradle the back of his burning neck.  
"I wasn't serious at all when I said that. I hope I don't come off as a creep, now."

"Don't worry. I know you were joking." Clem eased. She slowly descended on the red couch and motioned for OJ to sit next to her, CJ climbing on the other seat. AJ still stood, watching the conversation.  
"And NO, it wasn't you're fault," She sternly insisted, "I tripped."

"If you say so." Louis shrugged. A glimmer of a smile stung his face that made Clem cross her brows in aggravation.

"What's so funny?" She glowered.

"It's nothing..." He murmured, struggling not to laugh. Clem glared at him in confusion and annoyance as he chewed his lip in thought.  
"It's just that- I made a bet with Marlon earlier. And I don't know whether I won or lost."

"A bet?" The girl questioned, more confused than ever. "What was the bet?"

"Louis!" Marlon called, as if on queue. He jogged down the schools concrete steps and stopped at the flag pole, holding something behind his back. Louis gave a wink to Clem before trotting to meet him, knocking their fists together in greeting. Clem pointed a finger to her lips to silence her children, CJ imitating warmly.

"I know you didn't _exactly_ win," Clementine could quietly hear Marlon sneer, "but you caught a technicality. So I thought it'd be funny if I gave it to you anyways."  
He held out a stained, brown paper bag that crumbled as Louis took it from his hand, muffling his response.

"Eavesdropping, are we?" The boy on the other couch chimed.

Clem jumped at the sudden inquisition, turning to see him and Willy sitting together. The teen smirked, carving a femur to a fine point, "I'm Mitch."  
"I just wanted to know what they were betting about." Clem disclosed.

"It's better to just ignore them." He explained, "They're always challenging each other to something stupid."

"What are you doing?" OJ asked.

"I'm carving a weapon."

"You're good at that." AJ complimented.

"You like that, huh little dude?" Mitch looked up, smirking. "Wanna see something cool?"

"Show me!"

The teenager twirled his blade around his fingers like a baton, finishing his little show with a flourish by throwing it in the air and catching it.  
"Pretty rad, huh?" He smiled as he noticed the little boy's elation. " _That's_ how you fuck up some monsters."

"Swear!" AJ prompted, quickly twisting into a frown. Willy pointed and laughed at Mitch.

"Uh... I'm sorry?" He exclaimed in confusion, looking to Clem for what to do.

"Nuh-uh, AJ." Clementine warned, "He's not family. He can swear if he chooses."

"Oh. Okay." He muttered bashfully, "I didn't know. Sorry."  
Mitch shrugged silently in amnesty, going back to whittling his bone.

"-Oh, and tell Ruby to come see!" Marlon yelled back at Louis as he walked into the school. The teen gave a thumbs up in the air before shutting the front door. With a sigh, Marlon started strolling towards the small family.

"C'mon, yall." He started, placing a hand on AJ's shoulder.  
"Food's nearly- **GAH!** " He groaned at an elbow bashing into his groin. He folded over in pain as AJ back away in panic.

"AJ!" Clementine scolded. She regrettably shot up in concern, her mind starting to whirl. The little boy ran away in fright. Sighing, OJ jumped off of the couch and quickly followed to talk him down.  
"God, I'm so sorry about that!" She started, "He has a 'thing', you can't get behind him!"

"He's a jumpy little guy." He mangled. Mitch and Willy bubbled with laughter.

"You gonna be okay?" Clem cringed, watching as he weakly stood back up. He frailly nodded, clutching his stomach in discomfort.

"Look." Marlon started, "He can't go around kicking people in the... _You know_ , and expect 'em to eat at the same table."  
They both turned to the little boy- his big brother standing next to him, both looking out into the woods through the metal gate.

"I'll talk to him." She stated, starting to walk to him before being stopped by Marlon.  
"Wait." He halted, "You need to stay. Ruby's coming to check on you."  
He smirked, watching as the stout redhead walked out of the door, meeting eyes and turning sour at the sight of the girl he stood next to.  
"You two need to settle things anyway."

Sighing, Clementine gave a solemn nod. She turned, watching Ruby fold her arms next to the teenager.

"What'd ya need, Marlon?" The redhead sorely asked.

"Clementine had a spill, so give her a quick check up," He instructed, walking away. "And make amends. I mean it! I'm gonna go look for Rosie..."

Ruby frowned at the back of his head, before turning and giving Clem a quick once-over.

"I'm sorry about earlier." Clementine sincerely expressed, "I shouldn't have threatened you."

". . .Where's it hurtin' most?" Ruby asked with a sigh, seemingly ignoring her apologies.

"My head and chest, mostly." She admitted, furrowing her brows. "My entire body's sore, though."

"I expected your chest to hurt." The girl muttered, lifting Clem's arm and lightly grazing her palm against her ribcage.  
"You have a gash I stitched up under your bandages, and I'm pretty sure ya cracked a rib or two."

Clem winced at her touches, until she realized something.  
"So, you're the one who examined me when I came here?"

"Yea, why?"

She turned to make sure Mitch and willy weren't listening before continuing.  
"Would you happen to know where-"

"Your shirt and bra are?" Ruby finished quietly, "Your shirt was soaked in blood, and your bra was gettin' in the way when I was stitchin' you up, so I put 'em in a basket of dirty clothes."  
"I was plannin' on washin' 'em in the creek, but you woke up alot quicker than expected. Vi let me know the plan- I'll clean 'em up and give them to ya tomorrow, 'Sug."

"Thank you." Clementine smiled warmly. Maybe she wasn't that bad.

Ruby sighed, giving a sad smile. "I guess I owe ya an apology too... I'm sorry for everything."  
"No hard feelin's?"

"No hard feelings." Clem contested.

". . .So, you're head's hurtin'?" Ruby continued, eyeing Clem's hat. "May I?"  
She nodded, allowing the redhead to take her hat and place it on the couch. 

"That's not good..." Ruby concernedly thought out loud, placing tender touches across her skull. Clem felt slightly uncomfortable at the closeness.  
"And they say you've been tripping... Have you been feeling lightheaded, dizzy?"  
Clem nodded, making her head twinge.  
"Nonstop, or every time you do somethin' strenuous?"

"It's hard to tell."

"Gosh, 'Sug." Ruby stepped back, frowning. "I hope it isn't a concussion."

"Could've been a lot worse." Clem stated with a light shrug, "I'm just glad my kids are okay."

"Lucky they were wearin' their seatbelts... I'll guess most people don't do that these days."

Clementine smiled. Her little warriors.

"I think you'll be okay." Ruby sighed, backing away. "Just take it easy for a day or so, okay?"

"I'll try." Clem said, eyeing her two little boys standing at the gate. "Is it alright for me to walk around?"

"I'd say so, 'long as ya sit when you feel a dizzyspell goin'." She answered, giving a warm glint in her eye.

They gave mutual farewell glances before separating. Clementine turned to grab her hat off of the couch, before realizing it was already on another's head. The little girl sat, taking out the hair ties of her pigtails and tucking her curly, inky hair into the top.

"CJ," Clem urged in a warm tone, "what do you think you're doing?"

"Pretending I'm you, Mama." The girl chirped. The word alerted the teenager on the couch, momentarily stopping his whittling to share glances with Willy. 

"Sweet Pea..." She whined, ignoring the others' exchange, "What have I told you about touching people's things?"

"'Don't touch nothin' without asking,'" CJ repeated sadly, lifting the blue baseball cap off of her head and handing it to her mother. Long, swirly curls flowed down below her shoulders, covering the sides of her face. Clementine stared at her locks in deep concern, fixing her hat on her own head.

"Oh, jeez," She muttered, kneeling to her level and pushing strands out of her daughter's face, "We need to cut your hair. Soon."

"But I like it. It's not in the way when it's up." CJ expressed, displaying her big brown eyes in plea.

"Darling," She recited a strict tone, despite smiling at her little girl's appeal, "You know that's dangerous. Your hair can get caught."

"Please, Mama?" She begged, quivering her bottom lip.  
Clem drew a large breath, collecting her thoughts. How can she possibly say no to that face?

"How about this," The mother started, tucking a curl behind the girl's ear, "You can keep it, _for now_. But I'm going to braid it back."

The compromise lit across the little girl's face in a giant grin, jumping up to engulf Clementine in a hug. The teenage girl pressed her eyes closed, fighting off a dizzy spell.  
"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" She squeaked into her mothers neck, giggling madly. 

"You're lucky I love you so much," Clem smiled, patting he little girls back before setting her gently back onto the couch.  
"I'm going to go talk to AJ. You stay here, okay? I'll only be a few feet away." She asked, drawing a hesitant nod from the 4 year old.

Clem turned to the teenager beside her, "Mitch, I hate to ask-"

"Don't worry, I'll keep an eye out." The boy raised his head, giving a 2 finger salute before returning to his bone carving. Clementine contently nodded, giving CJ a small smile before turning to her boys standing at the gate.

"Hey." Clem softly introduced, stepping between the two boys. OJ gave a welcoming smile in return.

"Hey." AJ mutually responded, not looking away from a dead walker a small way's beyond the iron bars.

"Whatcha looking at?" She asked warmly. Once realizing the corpse was dead, the sight of the carcass barely phased her mind until she noticed a crow pecking out the rotten insides. 

"What's that bird doing?" The boy asked in disgust, watching it pecking through it's chest, "That's gross. It should stop."

"It's scavenging. Right, Clem?" OJ looked up at the girl.

"That's right." Clem exclaimed happily, "Can you say 'Scavenging', AJ?

"Sca-vagers."

"No, sca-VEN-gers." She calmly corrected.

"Sca-ven-gers..." He muttered, looking up at his adoptive mother, "What's it mean?"

"It means they look for discarded stuff, and eat whatever they can find." Clementine explained, "Kind of like us. But they don't hunt like us; they eat what's already dead. They taught us that in school. Before your time. "

"I wish I could've gone to school..." OJ told himself, staring bitterly at the crow.

"I do too, bud." She smiled sadly at him, "But I'll teach you everything I know."

"Sca-VEN-gers are gross..." AJ muttered repulsively at the bird.

"Oh, yeah." Clem agreed, waiting.

They sat in silence for a moment, before the 5 year old boy's face scrunched up in guilt.

"I didn't mean to hit him." He exasperated, looking up at the girl, "I didn't know that it was Marvin-"

"Marlon." Clem corrected.

"Right."

"AJ, I'm sure he'll forgive you," Clem started, "But we should talk to him when he get's back."

"But... But I don't think they like me." He muttered dolefully, looking at the scraped toes of his sneakers.

"They don't know you, AJ." She explained, getting on a knee, "I'll bet when they do, they'll like you just as much as we do."

"Eh, I don't like him very much." OJ banted. The younger boy folded his arms in resentment.

"Careful, OJ. He doesn't know you're joking."

The 7 year old sighed, "Sorry, AJ. I don't mean it."

"It's okay." The boy gave an assuring smile, before turning back to the girl and frowning, "I still don't know... Marlon was really mad."

"And that girl I bit." He continued, "She yelled at me. They're really scary."

Clem sighed at the ground, before looking back up, "AJ, listen."  
"We haven't eaten for days. The car is gone. All that's outside these walls, are walkers and bad people. Do you really want to go back out there?"

"No!" He affirmed, a sad look striking his face.

"So we should apologize to Marlon."

"...Right now?"

"Well, we can work up to it." Clem rose back up with a sigh, looking around and spotting the stout redhead by a campfire, "How about we apologize to Ruby, the girl you bit?"

"I don't know..."

"Don't worry," She smiled, "I apologized to her earlier. She's actually kinda nice. You just gotta tell her why you did it."

"Because of my... Thing?"

"Yes. It's nothing to be ashamed of. Just be honest." She assured warmly.

With the word, AJ gave a content nod and wandered to the campfire, making sure Clem was right behind him. 

"OJ, could you please keep CJ company? I have to help him." She asked. The boy have a solemn nod as he turned towards the couches.

The crunching of weathered leaves towards her alerted the redhead. She smiled at the sight of the teenage girl, but lightly dampened to see the biting toddler at her side. 

"Yes?" Ruby asked, switching between faces.

"I'm... I'm sorry I bit you." He started playing with his fingers, "Sometimes when I get scared I do that but I don't mean to I just get scared..."  
He rambled, "I just- I just get scared and I'm sorry and I hope you're hand is okay..."

The redhead stood in her thoughts, trying to comprehend his words before smiling warmly.  
"Aw, 'Sug," Ruby assured, "It's alright. We can all get a little crazy when we get scared."  
"Thank you for your honesty. And your apology." She looked up at her adoptive mother behind him, "Both of you."

"I did it!" AJ blurted happily, turning around. OJ wandered over with CJ and smiled at his little brother.

"You sure did." Clem encouraged. She stared happily at all of her children, before realizing OJ's arms were bare.

"Where's DJ?" She quickly asked in panic, knitting her brows in concern.

"Don't worry," The boy affirmed, a little taken aback, "That girl, Violet, has him."

"God," Clem sighed in relief, "Don't scare me like that. I'm gonna go get him."

* * *

HEY! Me again. Sorry to ruin your immersion haha.

So, as you probably can tell from the chapter title, this chapter is unfinished. I've decided I'm going to spruce up a bunch of the former chapters.

This chapter needs a lot more added to it- I just wanted to push out what I already have so I can make ya'll happy.

So that means by the time I edit this chapter, I would suggest rereading it all.

I'm also planning on combining past chapters, for the sole purpose of making them longer. Now to figure out how to do that...

**Author's Note:**

> I keep reading comments comparing my story to my inspiration, so let me add: My story is going to change and shift away from some of the similarities between them. We just haven't gotten that far yet.
> 
> Thank you so much for taking your time to read this- if you have ANY advice, suggestion, or criticism, please tell me! I love hearing it.  
> P.S.  
> I'm very sorry, but due to a past dickhead, I now have to enable comment moderation. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE don't let that discourage you from commenting. I love hearing from you. I hope you're happy, whoever you are.
> 
> P.P.S.  
> I'm shamelessly going to advertise my writing Tumblr blog, @korrasamiancity.tumblr.com


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